Diary Confessions
by thedreamz
Summary: Hermione receives a diary. When she starts writing in it, she finds that it sends all her words to another diary, and vice versa. Someone is on the other side that goes to Hogwarts and they begin sharing their secrets with one another. DMHG. PreHBP
1. The Diary

Disclaimer: It is J.K. Rowling's place to own the characters of Harry Potter. I'm merely writing a fanfiction with them in it…

Description: Hermione receives a diary. When she starts writing in it, she finds that it sends her all her words to another diary, and vice versa. Someone is on the other side that goes to Hogwarts and they begin sharing their secrets with one another. DMHG

Summary: Hermione Granger is entering her 7th and final year at Hogwarts: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as Head Girl! She gets a beautiful diary as a farewell gift from her parents. She finds that everything she writes will be sent to another diary, and everything written on the other diary will be sent to hers. Not only this, but that person on the other side goes to Hogwarts! Will love start to blossom? I think so. But then they arrange a meeting together at a school ball…

**PLANNED BEFORE SIXTH BOOK**  
I planned this all out before reading the sixth book so Dumbledore is still alive and everything is as normal as possible.

Author's Note: Hey, I thought that this story might be cool, so I started writing it… So please read! YOU HAVE TO. I COMMAND YOU TO!

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Chapter One: **The Diary**

Hermione grinned and walked toward Platform 9¾. It was a beautiful day for a train ride to Hogwarts. "Hermione, dear! Don't forget to give us your good-byes!" Called a voice. She turned around and embraced her parents in warm hugs. "Love you mum, dad." She sighed. It would be another year before she could see her parents again, unless she came back during the holidays. "Oh, Hermione. You're so grown up! Seventeen is almost an adult. Now because you're Head Girl and this is your final year, your father and I would like to give you this." Mrs. Granger paused to take out a book from her bag.

"We bought this at a fancy antique store." Hermione stared at it in awe. Its covers were of brown leather and had swirls etched in both the front and back. In fancy gold script, the cover said 'Diary'. "We thought you might like it. You can tell everything to it." Her parents were practically beaming at her. "Oh, and here's a quill that comes along with it. I know it's weird because it should be a pen or pencil, but we thought that it was a nice addition."

"Hermione!" Two people shouted at the same time. Hermione spun around and saw two of her best friends, Harry and Ron, waving to her. "Hey guys!" She waved back and turned back to her parents. "Bye mum. Bye dad! Thank you so much for the diary, I love it! I promise to write in it every day I can. Bye!" She pecked their cheeks and ran toward her friends. "Bye darling!" She heard her parents shout their good-byes.

Suddenly, someone crashed into her with their shoulder and she fell. "Watch it, Mudblood." Draco Malfoy glared down at her and stalked away. Hermione narrowed her eyes and picked up her things. She then walked the rest of the way to Harry and Ron. "Hey guys! I missed you two so much!" She put down her things to give them each a hug. Both were at least half a foot taller than her. Harry and Ron grinned at her. "Nice to see you again!" Said Harry. Ron nodded in agreement. "Nice to see you, too."

She smiled and picked up her stuff. Together, they entered the platform and boarded the Hogwarts Express. "I'll see you later, guys. I have to go to the Heads and Prefects compartment and see who the other Head is. Want to come with me, Harry? We can go meet Ginny there." Harry nodded and they both said bye to Ron, who disappeared in a compartment with Luna, Neville, and Dean in it.

"Wonder who the Head is." Hermione remarked, excited at finding out who it was going to be. Harry shrugged, "We'll be finding out soon." She and Harry went inside the front compartment. It was bigger than the others and had a good view of outside. "Hi Ginny." She greeted her red-haired friend. Quickly, Hermione scanned everyone's badges to find the Head Boy badge. When she found it, she grinned and looked up to see who it was. Her smile instantly faded as her eyes met with Draco's. They both shouted at the same time, "YOU'RE THE OTHER HEAD?"

Hermione nearly fainted and she fell back against her seat. "I can't believe this. A _whole_ year with _you_!" She grimaced at the thought of having to share a common room and a bathroom with him. "I'm not all that pleased about this, either. In fact, I'm not even the least bit _content_!" He sneered at her. Harry heatedly stood up to defend his friend, but sat back down when Dumbledore and the heads of houses entered their compartment.

"Good afternoon." The elderly headmaster peered through his spectacles to look at each and every one of them. The professors filed in behind him and they all sat down. "Now I have some jobs for all of you and especially the two Heads." He took a moment to pause and glance at each of the Heads' faces. Hermione's looked eager and Draco had a bored expression on his face.

"Now this year, we thought we'd have a ball right before the Winter holidays this year. Preferably a Saturday. That way, all will be able to attend. It will be the Winter Ball; a new tradition for Hogwarts. The Heads are going to have to be going together and they as well as the prefects are required to help in decorations, music, refreshments, anything else you can think of." Dumbledore paused and smiled at everyone's delighted reactions. Or at least, almost everyone's. Draco was looking a little disgusted. "Great, Mudblood." He glowered at Hermione. "Now I'm going to be contaminated by you at a ball, too."

Hermione chose to ignore him and looked impatiently back at Dumbledore. As soon as everyone stopped talking, the headmaster continued. "Furthermore, we will have a final ball at the end of exams. Just before everyone leaves so they can socialize. It will only be for seventh years, as they are not returning. Prefects younger than seventh year may also attend. You may bring a partner younger than you as long as he or she stays your partner for the night." He smiled at them all. "That is all. I will enlighten the rest of the students about these balls before the feast. Good day."

Headmaster Dumbledore stepped outside and left along with the heads of houses. "Two balls! That's great!" Hermione instantly began rambling on and on about the decorations they should have, what kind of food should be there, how the place would be set up, and everything. "Calm down, Hermione!" Ginny giggled and put a hand on her arm. "It's still a few months away. We have plenty of time to plan it all out." Harry nodded in agreement, his eyes on Ginny. Hermione knew that he was dying to ask her to go with him.

"Looks like we can go back to our compartments." Hermione commented and stood up with the Gryffindor prefects. The three of them walked down the aisle of the train until they found Ron sitting in a compartment. Luna sat across from him and Neville sat next to her. Dean seemed to have disappeared. They all took a seat and began talking about how they thought the year would turn out. It didn't take long for Hermione to spill out Dumbledore's ideas about the balls.

Everyone in the compartment looked delighted. After a while more of explaining everything and wondering who to ask to the ball, their chattering died down. "Hey Hermione." Harry prodded her in the shoulder and held up a little miniature broomstick. It was a Firebolt like Harry's real one. "Know any enchantments to make this thing fly around by itself?" Hermione smiled. "Of course." She dug through her pockets for her wand, but they were all empty. "Have any of you seen my wand?" Everyone shook there heads no.

Hermione sighed and began to worry. "You must've left it in the Heads and prefects compartment." Suggested Ginny. "Yeah, I guess I did." Hermione gave them all a weak smile. "I'll go check." Ron stood up at the same time as she did and offered to go with her. "I'm fine, thanks." She almost ran all the way to the compartment and threw it open.

So intent on trying to find her wand, she didn't realize that Malfoy was sitting there smirking at her. She fell down on her hands and knees and crawled around on the floor, looking under the seats. She was oblivious to the fact that her skirt had flown up and her underwear was visible for Draco to look at.

"Granger, you wear a _thong_?" He stared at her in surprise, but quickly hid it. Hermione stood and blushed as she pulled her skirt around her. "Mum bought them for me. She insists that I am maturing and should get married soon…" Hermione looked away from Draco the whole time and resumed her search. Draco didn't believe her. What a slut. He watched her occupying herself with trying to find her wand. "Looking for this?" His smirk grew and he took out Hermione's wand from his pocket.

Hermione whirled around and looked immensely relieved. "Yes!" She reached forward and tried to snatch it but Draco moved it out of her reach. He stood and moved so that their bodies almost touched. Smirking down at her, he held the wand just out of her grasp above his head. "Say the magic word." He whispered in her ear. For some reason, he felt an urge to kiss her right then and there. He was disgusted by this and thought that it must have been from knowing that she wore thongs. He snickered inwardly at the thought of blackmailing her with this piece of information.

"Please?" The Head Girl took his distraction as an advantage and jumped up. She successfully seized her wand and grinned. Draco didn't seem to have noticed. He looked like he was in a daze or something. "Hello? Malfoy?" She waved her hand in front of his face. He quite abruptly seized her wrist in a tight grip. "What?" He glared at her for a moment before realizing that he was holding her wrist.

He let go and fell back into the seat. He suddenly seemed to look tired. "Are you.. Okay?" Hermione bit her lip as she rubbed her wrist. "Just leave me alone, Granger." He snapped at her, and she happily left to go back to her friends. They must be wondering what was taking so long. She self-consciously smoothed down her skirt and wondered why in the world she had ever let her mother convince her to wear that damn thong. Now Malfoy would think that she was a slut.

For the rest of the train ride, Hermione was entirely silent and she seemed to be pre-occupied with something. She had been thinking about Draco the entire time and wondering if he would go and blab to the whole world that she wore a thong. It was like him to tell everyone that she was actually slut on the inside. With a sigh, she closed her eyes. She suddenly felt a little sleepy and decided to take a quick nap before arriving at Hogwarts.

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Author's Note: So what did you think? Please review and I'll update as soon as possible! I was going to write this whole thing before publishing it because I hate having people want me update when I get writer's block. It totally sucks. But please, please, PLEASE review and I'll love you forever!

To my "New Understandings" readers: I've decided not to write the sequel soon because I don't think that many like it and I'm also tired of having eager readers wait for me to update when I am not in the mood to. Especially when I get writer's block, which is very often. That is all.


	2. Writing

Author's Note: -squeal- I got reviews! My inner child is absolutely delighted! xD -snuggle-

**moondust0109**: Thank you for your concern. Hehe. And I'm glad that someone actually reads everything. I never get writer's block in the beginning. More like the fifth chapter and after that.

**jessierox**: Thanks for the suggestion… Maybe sometime in the later chapters. I found that this is a very common thing Draco does in many stories so I'm not sure.

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Chapter Two: **Writing**

"Hermione, wake up!" Hermione felt someone shake her shoulder. She opened her eyes and found that they had stopped. She woke to see a pair of green eyes staring at her. "Thanks, Harry." She smiled and sat up. Stretching out her arms, she yawned and stood up. She made sure that her wand was safely in her pocket and followed Harry outside. A shivering Ginny and Ron Weasley were already there waiting for them. "Sorry guys." Hermione blushed at having to be waited for.

"No problem!" Said Ginny in her happiest voice. She didn't look too happy, though. Dark clouds moved over the night sky and covered the moon entirely. It threatened to rain down on them at any moment. The four of them rushed to a carriage and once safely inside, began excitedly chatting. Soon enough, they arrived at the castle and only then did it start to pour. Enormous drops of rain shot down from the sky. A few girls screamed and they saw everyone hurrying inside, pushing and shoving each other.

The four friends exchanged looks with each other and got out. They held hands and prepared joined the mass. Harry was on the left side with Hermione the only one holding his hand. Ginny was in between Hermione and Ron and Ron was at the right. Ginny giggled, despite the freezing rain and yelled, "CHARGE!" They all entered the crowd and made it almost halfway to the doors when Hermione's hand slipped from Harry's. "Harry!" She called out. Everyone was bumping into her and someone even stepped on her foot. Harry disappeared from sight and someone crashed into her arm so she had to let go of Ginny's. She held her arm protectively to her chest and somehow ended up being pushed all the way to the doors.

Hermione scanned the rabble (never thought I'd use a school word out of school…) for any of her friends' faces and sighed when she didn't see any. She made her way to the Great Hall. She would meet them there. Someone shoved her aside and she started to grow angry. "Watch it!" She yelled, and saw that it was none other that Draco Malfoy. "I'd advise you to do the same." He drawled and strode toward the Slytherin table where Pansy immediately jumped ran up to him and fawned over him.

She had just barely sat down before her friends arrived, soaking wet. "Someone closed the doors on us and it took forever for Filch to open them again!" Ron whined, thrusting himself in the seat next to her. Harry sat next to Ron while Ginny sat on the other side of Hermione. Hermione raised her eyebrows. "Probably Malfoy." She turned and glared at their enemy.

Someone loudly cleared their throat and Hermione directed her attention to the front of the hall where Dumbledore was standing. "The sorting of the first years will begin now." He announced and Professor McGonagall stepped forward with a patched old hat known as the Sorting Hat. She placed it upon a stool just as the first years entered the Great Hall cold and drenched with rainwater. Hagrid came in after them and gave a little wink to Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny. He seated himself at the staff table and the sorting hat began to sing its song.

When it was finished, Professor McGonagall took out a long roll of parchment and began calling out names. "Irkon, Kamren." She said loudly, and a frightened young boy edged forward. His black hair stuck to his forehead and he looked around anxiously. "Please sit down." The Gryffindor head of house picked up the sorting hat. Dennis sat down. The hat covered almost his entire head. After a moment, the hat shouted, "Ravenclaw!"

The Ravenclaw table roared with applause as the boy stumbled over there. "Waterson, Diandra." A fair-haired girl walked proudly to the chair and sat down with her back straight. No sooner had the Sorting Hat touched her head when it boomed, "Slytherin!" All of Slytherin clapped loudly and cheered. With a smug look on her face, Diandra marched over to the green and silver table. A various number of names were called out and pretty soon, all the first years had been seated at the proper houses. Gryffindor received at least one-third of the first years.

The headmaster stood in the front and waited for the conversations to die. Soon enough, the Great Hall was silent. "Welcome, welcome to a new year at Hogwarts!" He bellowed, and many of the students applauded. "Now this year's Head Girl will be Miss Hermione Granger!" Hermione stood and the Gryffindor table roared so loudly, that she felt her ears were going to burst. She smiled and flushed, knowing that many were clapping for her. She sat back down.

"And our Head Boy will be Mister Draco Malfoy!" Draco stood and the noise erupted like a bomb. He stood proudly as the Slytherins cheered for him. He caught Hermione's eye for a split second and then sat down again. As soon as the cheering softened, Dumbledore spoke again. "This year, we will be having a new tradition. The Winter Ball will be the Saturday before the holidays and dress robes are required. All may attend and it will be during the time you eat supper, but we will have food there." He paused as everyone talked. "The Heads and prefects will be setting up this ball so I'm sure you will be pleased. Now there will also be a second ball at the end of the year. It is for seventh year students only, with the exception of seventh years bringing a permanent younger partner for the evening. All the prefects my join them as well and bring a partner of their own." He stood there for at least three minutes while everyone conversed excitedly.

"Now as last words, may I remind you that no one has the privilege enter the Forbidden Forest without the permission and company of a Hogwarts staff member. You may not leave the castle after hours and our curfew is nine o' clock. Prefects, Heads, teachers, along with Mr. Filch will be patrolling the corridors at this time and for the remainder of the night. If you are caught, you will have to serve detention. Now," He looked around the room. "Let the feast begin!"

Ron shoveled food on his plate and began to devour all of it at once. Hermione and Ginny exchanged looks and giggled. Harry just stared at Ron. "How can someone eat that fast and not choke?" He laughed along with the girls. Hermione piled food on her plate and started eating. It was a wonder how Ron could actually talk as he ate. "So who do you want to ask to the ball?" Said Ron with his mouth full of potatoes.

With a shrug, Hermione finished her plate. "Anyone other than Malfoy." She sighed and stood. "I'm going to go to the library." Everyone gave a nod and she said bye before heading off. At the hall doors, she was stopped by the headmaster. "Miss Granger, I think that now would be the appropriate time to show you your Heads' quarters?" He smiled, knowing that she would be willing to go with him. "Oh, yes Headmaster!" "Very well, then. Wait here."

Dumbledore took quick, long strides toward the Slytherin table and she saw that talking for a moment before Draco stood and they joined. "Come along." The old man cheerfully walked out with them and they went up the moving stairs. "Remember that the quarters are on the sixth floor and behind the statues of a snake and lion." He motioned for them to follow him and they turned left when they reached the sixth level. After only a minute of walking, they reached the polished, marble sculpture that Dumbledore had been talking about.

"Now you may choose your own password and just tell the statue if you want it changed but only if you are together and conscious." There was a twinkle in the headmaster's eye. "I think that you will find your common room, bedrooms and bathroom to your liking." He started to leave, but stopped in his tracks and turned around. "Head Boy is on the left, and Head Girl is on the right. Bathroom is straight ahead. In your rooms will be doors to your house common rooms and only you can go through it. Good day." He gave them a pleasant smile and walked briskly away.

Hermione exhaled deeply and faced Draco. "Now if we're going to choose a password, we have to do this civilly." She started to give him a speech about being nice and choosing the password together. "Quidditch will be the new password." Draco didn't sneer, but spoke in a tone that meant that they wouldn't argue about it. "Fine, that's okay I guess. Fiddlesticks." She said to the statue.

The snake slithering over the sitting lion and rested at its paws while the lion bent down and lowered his muzzle so that it was mere inches above the snake. A staircase dropped down from above and the Heads had to step back to avoid being crushed by it. The stairs were small and led to a door that appeared only a yard above the statue. Draco pushed past Hermione and climbed the stairs. He slammed the door open and entered it.

"Rude." Breathed Hermione and followed inside. She closed the door behind her and looked around. The common room had a two-seat couch sitting in front of a fire and two armchairs placed beside it. A warm, crackling fire welcome them. The rest of the furnishings included a table with two chairs, two desks, and a loveseat sitting near the corner. The whole room blended the Gryffindor and Slytherin colors so that it looked beautiful. As for the bathroom, there was a pair of white doors in front of them and it had shiny golden doorknobs. "This place is beautiful!" Hermione stared at the place in awe. It was the most elegant place she'd ever stayed in.

Sneering, Draco crossed the room to his room. "It's okay… I guess. I'd expect a mudblood to think that this place was a palace." With that, he locked himself into his room and she was left alone. Hermione made a face at his door and went to see her own room. She took one last look at the common room and walked to her maroon door.

She opened the door and gaped at what she saw. It was so much better than even her parents' bedroom! And they weren't exactly poor considering the fact that her parents worked as dentists. She took her time to examine ever inch and corner of it. In the middle stood a magnificent king-sized canopy bed with a gold canopy and maroon bed sheets. Six pillows were arranged beautifully on it and it just looked so wonderful. An oak dresser with elaborate designs carved on it stood on the left of the bed. Next to the dresser, on the other wall, was a tall, rectangular window that looked outside and down to the grounds. It even showed the beautiful lake. On the other side of this window was a golden vanity. Hermione smiled to herself. Ginny would love to have one like this. On the right of the bed was a beside table that matched the dresser well. She sighed and finally looked at the best. There was a desk straight across from the window and it also matched the dresser. It had three drawers on the left and one drawer on the right. Under the right drawer was an empty space where Hermione could put any text books or whatever. What a perfect room!

She guessed that her stuff was already here so she began to hunt down her diary. She looked through the drawers and finally found it isolated by itself in the right one. Hermione took a few minutes to admire and study its beauty before taking out the matching quill and opened it.

She'd expected the first page to be blank, but it wasn't. There was someone else's messy handwriting on it. As if it had been used before. She flipped to the second page. Empty. It looked quite new, actually. Puzzled, Hermione turned back to the first page and started reading it.

_My troubles are not over. Father demands that I meet him during Holidays at once so that they can give me the mark. He suspects that I am not willing to meet him there. His master would be furious if I didn't, but I can't do it. I would leave them forever, but they would eventually find me and force me to join me… Or worse. But what is worse than joining their forces? Nothing in my life has ever been even remotely pleasing. Hogwarts is a place where I am an outcast. If only someone could understand me… Then I would at least have something to live for._

Hermione's first reaction was to wonder who it was that wrote it. It sounded so sad and she wished she could've helped the person. She turned to the next page and decided to write about her own troubles. The first of them was Draco Malfoy.

_He is such a prat! No wonder all he's got is a bunch of dumb friends! He's such a rude, arrogant, egotistical jerk that doesn't even deserve to attend Hogwarts! Not only that, but I have to spend most of my year seeing him! I mean seriously! I came to Hogwarts to have a good time and he just spoils it for me! And it's only the first day…_

She groaned in frustration and started to close the diary when she noticed a line of words slowly appearing on the third page. It was the same scrawly handwriting as the one on the first page. Hermione's first instinct was to throw the book away from her. The thought of Tom Riddle's diary popped up in her mind. But this person _did_ say that they were from Hogwarts. They were probably a student. She shrugged and made a decision that it wouldn't hurt to read it.

_Who's the prat? Sounds like someone I know…_

And that was the beginning of Hermione's friendship with him. They found out about each other's true selves but never mentioned their own names or any indication of who they were. After a week of talking to him, she started to look forward to getting back to her diary and writing entry after entry. She would spend hours at a time locked up in her room doing this. She found herself wondering who he was time and time again. Sometimes she would ask, but she never got an answer. If only she could just meet him. He seemed so charming and thoughtful…

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Author's Note: So what do you think so far? I think that this is the longest chapter I've ever written. Hehe. Sorry I had to make the ending so quick and make a whole week pass by. I didn't know what else to write. So don't forget to review! You can't truly love my story without reviewing for it! 

MY INNER CHILD DEMANDS THAT YOU REVIEW FOR THIS STORY ;)


	3. Patrolling

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews everyone! I got eight!

**Ilovesexydark**: You'd be able to tell who's writing.

**DarkMage6**: Ooh, I'd love to share a diary thingy with him! x3

**WARNING**: Oh, and by the way, there is some sexual content in this chapter that would not be appropriate for some people. So if you don't like it, skip the part when Hermione goes to the bathroom.

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Chapter Three: **Patrolling**

The first Sunday after arriving at Hogwarts, Hermione got up early. She smiled to herself. No classes today and she had finished up all her homework the previous night. The first thing Hermione did was to get out her diary and see if there were any new entries. There was none. Hermione wrote a _Good morning!_ and waited for a reply. Not a minute later, a _Morning._ appeared.

Smiling, Hermione took her diary out into the common room. Draco was surprisingly already awake and in his choice of the day's attire; a simple white t-shirt and baggy beige pants. He had a book or something out and was staring at it as if reading it… Except his eyes weren't moving. Hermione thought nothing of this and sank into the loveseat in the corner and picked up her quill.

_Hey, so have you finished your homework yet?_

She bit her lip and waited for a reply. She heard Draco writing something for a few seconds and he stopped. Right after he stopped, she got an answer from her 'pen pal'.

_Not yet. What's the spell that you say after using Sonorus? It slipped my mind._

Hermione smiled and wrote back an answer with her neat handwriting.

_Quietus._

_Oh, right. Thanks…_

She stared at the diary, expecting him to say something else, but he didn't. Then after five minutes, he finally wrote something.

_Would it be okay… For you to meet me at breakfast today? I really want to know who you are._

Excited, Hermione immediately agreed.

_Yes of course! Meet you there at 7:00?_

_Yeah. Next to the doors._

_Great! See you then!_

She happily stood and went into her room. She carefully set her diary in its place in her right desk drawer. Grabbing some clothes to change into, she hurried out of her room and to the bathroom. Right when she was about to reach for the doorknob, Draco blocked her way. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to go take a shower. What does it look like?" Barked Hermione, "Now move out of my way!" Draco smirked and wagged his finger at her. "Now, now. Where are your manners? Besides, I have to get ready for breakfast." Hermione practically exploded. "Well I do, too!" She pushed past him, went inside, and slammed the door shut. Making sure to lock it, she stripped her clothes off and tossed it into a basket with the rest of her dirty clothes.

She opened the shower door and turned on the shower. She adjusted the knob so that the water wasn't too warm nor too cool. With a sigh, she stepped inside and closed the glass door. The water felt good on her skin. Especially in the morning. Showers always made Hermione wide awake.

Hermione's relaxing didn't last long. The door opened all of a sudden, and Draco came inside. She shrieked and instinctively covered her chest, turning so that her back was facing him. "How did you get in here?" She yelled at the tiled wall. "Alohomora spell. You should know." Draco chuckled lightly and turned to the sink. "Why are you hiding your body, Granger? It's a shame that you were cursed to be a mudblood. Or else I'd actually think you were pretty."

"GET OUT OF HERE!" Screamed Hermione, but he refused to. "Deal with it, Mudblood." He smirked and stared at the golden locks falling in his face. He took his tube of gel and poured a gob into his hand. After gelling his hair back, he brushed his teeth. "Please… Just leave, Malfoy." Hermione continuously begged him to go away so she could shower in peace. "No." He answered and turned to her after finishing everything. Approaching the shower, he studied every inch of the her body that was facing him. "Nice ass, Granger."

Blushing, she turned only her head to glare at him. "Get out of here right now, you pervert!" With a shrug, Draco turned and made his way to the door. "As you wish." Only when he had closed the door did Hermione's tense body loosen up. She finished her shower, put on a pink tanktop and tight jeans, and dried her hair with her wand. She brushed her teeth and then looked at the clock hanging on the bathroom wall over the door. It was 7:06! Panicking a lot, Hermione threw open the door, hurried out of the common room, and ran all the way to the Great Hall.

She looked next to the entrance of the hall. No one. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes for a second, and calmly walked inside. Her heart was beating faster than usual, but not because she had been running. But because she would actually meet the person that she had shared her feelings with. If he hadn't left yet, that is.

Unfortunately, there was no one hanging around the doors. Hermione was disappointed. "Hey, Hermione! Over here!" She looked up to see Harry waving to her from the Gryffindor table. Putting on her brightest smile, she walked over to him and took the vacant seat beside him. "Hey Harry! Where's Ginny and Ron?" She noticed that the two red-heads weren't around. They usually were. "Oh, I sent them to the Quidditch pitch for practice. Ginny made Chaser and Ron's still Keeper. They're getting quite good. I just stayed here to wait for you." He grinned.

"Oh, then what are we waiting for?" Hermione happily got up again and took on last look around the doors. Still no one. She sighed and followed Harry out the Great Hall and onto the school grounds. They walked briskly to the pitch, where the whole Gryffindor team was practicing. As Harry mounted his broom and flew with the others, Hermione made her way to the stands. She took a seat and squinted, trying to see who was who. It was hard to tell. They were too far away, but they looked pretty good.

"Hi Hermione!" The familiar voice of the youngest Weasley traveled down to Hermione. The younger girl flew down and joined Hermione in the stands. "Hey Ginny." Hermione smiled. "The team looks awesome. You play a great Chaser." Ginny shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose so. Ron keeps messing up, though. I think he ate too much this morning. Where were you, anyway? You usually get up earlier than us." She put down her broom.

Hermione made a face and told Ginny about her pen pal and her unpleasant shower with Malfoy in the bathroom. Ginny answered with a giggle. "Come on, Hermione. Malfoy's actually pretty hot! I wouldn't mind." She smiled at her friend and picked up her broomstick. "Oh, Ginny. I suppose I wouldn't mind too much if it weren't for his attitude."

With a shrug, Ginny got on her broom. "Well, I guess I'd better keep practicing. First game's with Slytherin this Saturday and we don't want to lose, right?" Hermione laughed softly. "Right! Have fun! I'll go to my room and write some more in my diary." She left the stands and walked back to the Heads common room. "Quidditch." She entered the common room to find that Draco's door was closed. He was back from breakfast, apparently. She went into her own room and took out her diary. A new entry from him was waiting for her.

_Where were you this morning? I waited from 6:55 to 7:15 and you didn't show up._

Hermione frowned and got out her quill. She felt guilty that she had him wait for so long.

_I'm really sorry… I got held up by that prat I was talking about earlier. I hate him so much! If it weren't for him, I would've definitely made it on time to meet you. I guess we're going to have to wait. I'm busy today and there's classes tomorrow through Friday. On the weekend I promised my friends I'd go to Hogsmeade with him._

_Oh, well, that's okay I guess. Maybe I'll see you at Hogsmeade. But then again, I won't know it anyway._

With a giggle, Hermione closed the book and put it under her pillow. After Head Girl duties, she'd see if he was still awake. What a way to spend her Sunday… With that prat, Malfoy. He'd ruined everything for her. If only she could just feed him to a werewolf and be done with it. She sighed and walked into their common room. "Stupid Mudblood," Came a cold sneer that was no doubt Malfoy. "I have to spend the whole day with filth like you, and it's all your fault." She ignored him and walked defiantly out the door with Draco on her heels.

"Dumbledore's gone mad, making me patrol the corridors with you." He continued as they walked aimlessly around the school. Hermione shot a fierce glare at him. Draco was using his trademark smirk as usual. They passed by a few first year girls and with one look from Draco, they ran off. Hermione let out a muffled giggle. "Think it's funny, do you Granger? All real men would run if they saw you in a wedding gown. Potty and Weasel barely count as people, let alone men."

At his words, Hermione began firing up. "Don't you dare insult my friends!" She took out her wand and pointed it at him, but was only rewarded with a chuckle from Draco. "Oh, yeah. Shoot me with a spell. Let Dumbledore find out that his top witch is hexing someone left and right." He gave her a triumphant sneer.

All of a sudden, the floors and walls of the corridors became slowly turning into ice. It crept rapidly from the direction they were heading. The floor started to rumble, and loud stomps reached their ears. A shadow came down from around the corner and Hermione shrieked. She jumped up into Draco's arms and hugged his neck. "Stop it, Peeves!" Draco yelled angrily. The ghost flew out from the corner, laughing hysterically.

"You should've seen her face!" He watched Hermione as he passed them. The ice began to dissolve away. "I know you wanted me, but I didn't know you'd find an excuse to hug me." Draco smirked at her. She was still in his arms. "I was not trying to hug you!" Retorted Hermione, and found that their faces were unbearably close. "For the smartest witch in our generation, you sure are dumb." He said simply and dropped her on the ground.

"Ow!" Hermione brushed off her clothes and followed him around the corner. How she lasted for the rest of the day without pulling out her hair, she didn't know. But at least she did make it.

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Author's Note: Well, thanks for the reviews and please review for this chapter, too! I have some people either faving this story or alerting this story, but they've never reviewed. To you people doing this, please review because I often don't want to update if I don't get enough. Thanks. 


	4. Suspicions

Author's Note: Well here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

**Isabella4Life**: Yeah, I think I fixed all of those errors after you mentioned them.. Didn't realize that a lot of the words that were supposed to be in italics weren't. I guess when I uploaded it, I didn't check that it was okay. Sorry you had to deal with that.

**runaway mental patient**: Yes, very silly indeed.

**Creamika**: Yay! -feels special- DracoxHermione stories _are_ the best, though.

**forbiddenlight**: You're totally on track. ;)

**WARNING**: Mild sexual content. Skip the part in their common room if you don't want to read it.

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Chapter Four: **Suspicions**

The next morning, Hermione dreaded going to double Potions. More time with the Slytherins, Snape, and worst of all, Malfoy. She unhappily took her seat at a table with Ron and Harry on either side of her. "Now today we will be making any potion you wish from the advanced Potion book. All ingredients are up here on my desk and you have until the end of class to finish them. A's will be given only to those that make theirs within the time limit and is perfect. Begin." He rapped his wand against his desk and a variety of raw ingredients appeared.

Hermione took out her Potions book and flipped through the pages. "You can make a truth potion, Harry. Ron can make a sleeping potion…" She quickly looked through the index. "And I'll make an invisibility potion. I'll get the ingredients." She stood and made her way to the front. Not many people were there, seeing as a lot were still trying to decide what potion they wanted. "Get out of my way, Mudblood." Draco shoved Hermione aside and grabbed the things he needed. He gave her a smirk and went back to his table.

With a groan, she took the ingredients and went back to her table. "Can you believe Malfoy? He's such a prat." She and her friends glanced over at his table. He was concentrating immensely on his potion and ignoring Pansy's constant babbling. Hermione put a unicorn hair in her cauldron of boiling water.

"Next, add a teaspoon of dragon scales." She mumbled, and put that in. The liquid in her cauldron bubbled and turned blue. "Hermione, what happened to my potion?" Ron nudged her and stared watched as his potion turned pink. Little clouds of heart-shaped steam flowed out of the top. "You made a love potion, Ron…" Hermione giggled quietly. "I guess you can turn that into Snape instead."

"Oh." Ron turned a bright shade of red and poured some of it into a vial. "Hey, Ron, you have a lot of that… You know that you can sell it for extra galleons, right?" Ron's face had a look of pure delight. "That's a great idea, Harry!" He set the vial on the table and filled five more vials full of the pink liquid. He pocketed them all.

Hermione grinned as her potion turned translucent. It bubbled just a little. "I'm finished." She glanced at her muggle watch. "And with ten minutes to spare." She turned to Harry. "Need any help?" Harry's gaze rose from his cauldron. "Please?" He asked and chuckled. "Yeah." Hermione managed to help Harry through his potion in time.

"Alright, pour a sample of your potion in a vial and bring it up to my table. Class is dismissed." Snape stood in front of his desk and waited as students hurried to finish their potions. "Has no one completed the assignment?" He glared at everyone. Hermione and Draco stood at the same time to bring their potions up. Ron followed Hermione. "Move, Granger." Snapped Draco and he pushed her. Hermione's vial flew up and them smashed to the floor. He smirked and handed his potion to the professor.

"Don't be so clumsy, Miss Granger. Ten points from Gryffindor. Clean it up." Snape unfairly complimented Draco on his potion. "But Malfoy did it!" "No need to accuse others of your own clumsiness. Another ten points from Gryffindor." Snape's lips curled into an unpleasant smile as Ron helped her up and she cleaned the mess with her wand. "Ferret." She glared at Draco.

Unfortunately for Hermione, Harry had poured his potion into a vial and cleared their tables. Now she didn't have any potion to turn in. They were the last ones left after class. "Now I'm going to fail in Potions because of Malfoy!" Hermione wailed as they walked out of the classroom. "Don't worry. We'll get through this somehow." Harry reassured her. "Let's go eat lunch." He suggested, and Ron agreed. "You guys go ahead. I think I'll go to my room." She wanted to get out her diary. He always made her feel better about herself.

Harry and Ron smiled and waved. They turned the corner and vanished. Hermione sighed as she headed toward the Head Boy and Head Girl's common room. Once she entered, she threw her schoolbag on one of the armchairs and sat down. She thought that everything was going great until Malfoy had to ruin it for her.

That's when the Head Boy walked in front of her, blocking her view of the fireplace. "Malfoy." Spat Hermione. "It's all your damn fault that I failed that assignment." Draco smirked at her and leaned down to her face, his hands on the armchair. "Now, now, Granger. Harsh words won't do you any good." She pushed herself back. He was smirking at her as usual. "I know you want me, Granger." She shook her head and glowered at him. "No way, ew!"

She tried to push him away, but he was stronger than her. He grabbed her wrist tightly and stared at her. "Don't deny it. I bet you think about me every night and wish that I was with you. I bet you always imagine me fucking your brains out." He whispered in her ear. Hermione couldn't help but feel herself getting wet. He trailed his thumb along her cheek and then moved back. "You should've seen your face." He snickered and sat on the unoccupied armchair.

Hermione sent a glare his way and pulled him up to his feet. "I would never think that of you." She seethed and kneed him in his area. He grunted and doubled over. "You're going to pay for this, Mudblood." He sneered at her as she entered her room and closed the door noisily. She inhaled deeply and got out her diary from under her pillow. She hadn't taken it out last night, being too tired.

Although she noticed a new entry inside it, she didn't write anything. The guy she talked to through her diary had a familiar personality. She felt as though she'd already met him, but was kind of a different person. If only she could finally meet him… Then she wouldn't be in suspense all the time. Maybe they could even talk in person instead of through diaries. But what would he think of her if he found out that she was Hermione Granger? Would he dump her for someone else? Everyone thought of her as a know-it-all bookworm that didn't know how to have fun. This diary thing could be useless.

She wondered what she should do. Of course she couldn't reveal herself through the diary or he probably wouldn't get a chance to see him again. He'd just avoid her and that would be the end of everything. No, she had to meet him in person… And the Winter Ball was just the place to meet! She excitedly wrote in her diary. It was far enough so she could plan what she would say to him and everything.

_Hey, you know that Winter Ball we're having before the break?_

Hermione waited for almost fifteen minutes before she got a reply. It was a long fifteen minutes for her.

_Yeah, what about it?_

_Well, I was wondering if you'd like to go together?_

_Sure._

_Um, okay… I can't wait!_

She didn't get answer from him and didn't care. She was going to meet him at the ball! With a joyous squeal, she embraced the diary and even gave it a kiss. Since they were going to go to Hogsmeade that weekend, she would buy her outfit in advance. But just in case she didn't like any of the dress robes they sold, she took out a magazine. It was one that sold the best muggle dresses, but the owner was a wizard.

Hermione had had her eyes on a white dress for a long time. She went through it and marked the page when she found it. If she didn't think that there was any dress robe that was better, she'd just purchase the muggle one. She was sure that Dumbledore wouldn't mind. Besides, there wasn't too much of a difference between dresses and dress robes. With a contented sigh, she leaned back against the pillows and put the magazine on her beside table.

Her thoughts strayed to the guy she was going to meet. Was he going to be the same person that wrote in the diary? Or was he going to have an entirely different personality face to face? She got off her bed and opened her door a crack. Draco was staring at that book thing he'd had out the day before. She opened the door wider and slipped out. Maybe he wouldn't notice her and harass her more.

When she looked closer at the book, she noticed that it was made of leather, just like hers, except black. She didn't get a chance to examine it more, because Draco took notice of her presence. He closed the book and looked at her, his eyes boring into her. "What is that?" Hermione stepped forward and tried to get another good look at what he was holding. "It's nothing of your concern." He stood and exited out of the common room.

Shaking her head, Hermione went after him and walked to the Great Hall. It must have been a mere coincidence. She convinced herself to forget about it and joined up with her friends at the maroon and gold table. "Hey guys!" She greeted them cheerfully. Neville, Luna, Ron, Harry, and Ginny all said their hellos to her. Hermione took Ginny's hand and sat between her and Harry. "I can't wait for that Hogsmeade trip. We can buy out dress robes for the ball!" Hermione grinned.

Ginny actually looked a little surprised. "Isn't it a bit too early to be thinking about that?" She smiled at the thought of shopping with Hermione. She absolutely adored shopping. "I just don't want to wait…" Hearing them talking about the ball, Neville interrupted them. "Speaking of the ball… Would you… Would you like to go with me, Hermione?" He asked nervously.

"Oh, sorry Neville. I already have a date." Hermione gave him an apologetic look. "Oh." He shrunk back in his seat and looked embarrassed. "Hey, Hermione." Ron tapped her on the shoulder. "Do you really have a date?" Ginny smirked a bit. She knew that both Ron and Neville had been crushing on Hermione for a long time. "Yes, I do. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to have a girl talk with Ginny." The girls stood up and left Ron looking mildly embarrassed and pretty unhappy.

"So spill it, Hermione!" The youngest Weasley looked like she was about to burst. "Well…" Hermione hesitated. "I've never told anyone about this before, but I got this diary from my parents." She glanced at her friend, knowing that she had had unpleasant experiences with Riddle's diary. "I started writing in it, and I found out that there's this guy on the other side and we've been talking a lot. I don't know who he is and I'm pretty sure he doesn't know who I am, either. But I asked him to go to the ball with me and he said yes." She turned and face Ginny as they stopped at the bank of the lake.

Ginny gripped Hermione's hand tightly. "Are you sure this is safe, though? I thought that Riddle was good, but you know how that turned out." She looked massively worried. "It'll be alright, Gin." Reassured Hermione and she smiled at her friend's concern. "There'll be everyone else at the ball and they wouldn't dare do anything with everyone around." Ginny still looked skeptical, but nodded. "Alright. You're much smarter than me, anyways."

"So what's he like?" Ginny seemed to want to know everything exciting about everyone. "Well he's very charming and intelligent." Hermione smiled as she thought of him, but then the smile disappeared. "But Ginny, everyone thinks that I'm no fun and what will happen if he found who I was and just… went away?" She squeezed her friend's hand. "I'm sure that if he's the sensitive guy you talked to in the diary, he wouldn't mind." The littlest Weasley's words made Hermione feel slightly better.

The Head Girl sat with her friend on the grass and looked out across the lake. "I just don't know what I'd do if he ditched me. I mean, I always look forward to talking to him. He seems to understand me and he has problems, too. Like a real person would." She fingered a flat rock in her hand threw it across the water. It skidded along the surface for a few seconds before sinking toward the depths of the water.

Ginny gave Hermione a hug. "You know that I'm always here." Hermione beamed at Ginny. "I know. And I'll always cherish that. I just want you to be there with me during the ball, okay? It'd be great if we could all be friends." There was a delighted look on Hermione's face. As if she were a five-year old girl that received a pretty doll for her birthday.

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Author's Note: In the next chapter, I'll be skipping to their Hogsmeade trip. Tell me if I'm going to fast or something. Please, please review! 


	5. Reusables

Author's Note: I haven't gotten as many reviews as I wanted for the last chapter but I suppose that's okay.

**RAINEY**: I totally agree! I can't wait to write that chapter, either. I might actually skip to that part, but it would be going to fast… -wishes I did a Back-To-School ball instead-

**Swivelchair**: You're right… She probably would research it, but I'm not JK Rowling and Hermione isn't my character. xD And if you re-read it, you'll see that I put in a part. I'm making her research it now. Credit to you for the idea!

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Chapter Five: **Reusables**

On Saturday morning, Hermione woke nice and early and grinned as she thought of her day ahead. It would be wonderful! Hogsmeade with Ginny. She was her best female friend. The Head Girl changed into a pale blue tanktop and denim shorts. The curtains flew open when she pointed her wand to it. Perfect! A beautiful day with not a cloud in sight. She walked out of her room and into the bathroom. It took only three minutes for her to get ready. Her wavy hair fell around her face perfectly now.

With a huge smile, she exited the bathroom and returned to her room again. The digital clock in her room said 7:04 am. She saw a white door appear on the wall beside the door to her common room. It must be the one leading to the Gryffindor common room. Hermione marveled at how it knew that she wanted to go there. She opened the door and went inside. Ginny was already sitting on a couch waiting for her. At Hermione's arrival, she jumped up and grinned. "Let's go!"

Arm in arm, the two girls made their way to the first floor and outside. Professor McGonagall was standing there, collecting permission forms. Hermione and Ginny handed theirs to her and followed the few students into Hogsmeade. "Let's go get our robes first!" Ginny pulled Hermione toward a shop with various robes in the window.

They headed toward the countless racks of dress robes. Obviously delighted at seeing all the elegant clothing, the red-haired girl ran to a rack and began fingering through the robes. "Oh, this one is absolutely gorgeous!" She picked out a purple dress robe for Hermione to see. It was indeed beautiful. "But it would clash with my hair…" She mumbled, "Would you like to try it on, Hermione? I bet it'd look wonderful on you." Hermione shrugged. "I suppose." She took the dress into a fitting room and came back out wearing it.

"Oh, Hermione you look fabulous!" Ginny squealed in delight as Hermione turned to face a full-length mirror. "I don't know, Ginny. It's comfortable and pretty, but I don't like it as much as I should." Her friend nodded understandingly. "Well, you can pick out your own. We can each pick out at least five that we like and we can take turns trying them on when we're finished." Hermione agreed and went off by herself. She repeatedly heard yelps of joy from Ginny, and knew that each time she had found a nice dress robe.

It took Hermione a good twenty minutes before she found five that she thought could compete with the muggle dress in her magazine. Two were white, one was silver, one was green, and one was light blue. "Ginny, are you done?" Hermione called out to the Weasley. "Nearly!" Ginny answered and appeared in moments with six dress robes. "We can both change at the same time." She suggested, and Hermione agreed with her. They both went inside changing rooms that were side-by-side. It didn't take long for them to both come out.

Hermione had put on a plain white one with only silver beads sewn onto the chest to look like a flower. "So what do you think?" Asked Hermione nervously. She looked at herself in the mirror. Ginny grinned. "It looks great! You look beautiful in white. How does mine look?" Hermione turned to face Ginny and examined her outfit. It was a green dress robe with gold outlines on the tips of her sleeves, her neckline, and the hem of the dress. "I love it!" Exclaimed Hermione, grinning.

After going through all of their dress robes, Hermione decided that she was dissatisfied with all of them. Ginny chose the first dress that she had worn and by the time she'd paid for it, it was a quarter past ten. "What now?" The sound of a small bell tinkling was heard as they opened the door and left the store. "Let's get some jewelry!" Ginny answered, and they hurried to the nearest jewelry store.

"Oh, wait." The red-head stopped in her tracks as they went inside. "Mum wouldn't let me get anything else. She said that all I could get was a new dress." She looked crestfallen. "Don't worry, Gin. I can pay for it!" Hermione brightly gazed into glass cases full of precious gems. "Really, Hermione? I don't want to be a burden… I mean, you don't have to." She looked skeptically around. "It's alright. Just as long as it isn't too expensive. I have some extra galleons from doing chores for a neighbor. Turns out that I have a neighbor witch."

"Thanks so much! I owe you one." Ginny began gushing over all the beautiful necklaces, earrings, bracelets, even watches. "Oh, this is perfect!" She pointed to a small necklace just big enough to fit around her neck. The thin chain holding an emerald was made of gold. "We'll get that, then." She told the salesman behind a glass counter. He nodded and took out it for them. "Would you like a case with it? It's an extra three sickles." Hermione nodded while Ginny raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Are you sure about this?" She asked.

Hermione laughed softly and nodded. "Of course. And I'd like this necklace." She pointed to a necklace with a thin, silver chain just a bit longer than Ginny's. A light blue tear-shaped topaz the size of a fingernail hung from the end; two smaller round diamonds hung on each side. The salesman nodded. "Excellent choice, miss." He took it out. "And a case for this one as well?" Hermione gave him a short nod, "Yes."

"Nine galleons." He told her, and Hermione fumbled through her pocket to get it out. She exchanged the money for a miniature plastic bag with two white velvet cases inside. "Thank you." Said Hermione and they departed. What now? They'd managed to kill thirty-five minutes so now it was eleven o'clock. "Let's go to the Three Broomsticks and get a butterbeer." She said, and they headed in that direction.

They went inside; the whole place was packed with people. The noise was deafening and they could just barely make out a voice calling their names. "Hermione! Ginny! Over here!" It was Harry and he seemed to have found a table. Ron was sitting beside him, smiling nervously at them.

Hermione and Ginny walked over to their table. Hermione sat next to Ron, and Ginny sat next to Harry. "The noise is pretty loud, isn't it?" Harry shouted at them so they could hear. "Hold on!" The Head Girl shouted at them and then took out her wand. She performed a spell, and it suddenly became very silent. "Whoa, what happened to the noise?" Ron looked around them with a confused expression plastered on his face. "Hermione did one of her oh-so-helpful charms, Ron." His sister explained, and they all gave Hermione grateful smiles.

"So what did you guys get today?" Harry asked pleasantly and he shoved two extra mugs of butterbeer at them. "Been waiting for you." Hermione said, "Thanks. We just bought some necklaces and Ginny bought a dress robe." Ginny nodded in agreement. "What's the dress robe for?" Harry took a sip of his drink after asking. "The Winter Ball." The younger Weasley replied. "That's pretty far… Say, Ginny? Has someone asked you yet?" She shook her head. "Good, because I was wondering if you would go with me?" He got a squeal of happiness from her. "Is that a yes?" "Yes."

Hermione beamed at them and drank some of her butterbeer. She was nearly halfway finished. "Are you serious that you have a date?" Blurted Ron at her as the couple beside them talked. She knew that this had been on his mind since Monday. "Yes." She swirled her drink around in her mug before taking a small sip. "With who?" The brunette just shrugged and took another sip. Ron sighed and looked down at his untouched butterbeer. It was very unlike Ron to not even take little sip of it.

The Head Girl stood up quickly after finishing her butterbeer in silence. "Well, I'll be going now. Just give each of your wands a quick wave when you want the noise to come back." "Where are you going?" Ginny looked up at her. "I have Head Girl duties." Fibbed Hermione and waved her wand in a circular motion with a movement of her wrist. "Bye." She gave a last glance at Ron and left for the castle.

She contemplated what to do, and finally decided on trying to find out who her 'pen pal' was. Since the ball was in the middle of December, she couldn't wait. "Accio diary!" She waited for a moment, and her leather diary came whizzing to her. Hermione caught it with ease and headed off to the library; the best place for research.

It was no surprise that the library was completely empty aside for Madam Pince, the vulture-like librarian. She looked up from her work and stared suspiciously at Hermione. "And why aren't you at Hogsmeade, Miss Granger? It isn't like someone to skip it to visit the library. Even someone like you." Hermione shrugged, "I just thought that I might finish up some homework before tomorrow."

Madam Pince eyed Hermione for another second before returning to whatever she was doing. Hermione hung around bookshelf after bookshelf, looking for a book about diaries. It was at least half and hour before she did find one. And a rather large on at that. "History of Diaries…" She read the title on the spine and took it out of its place, leaving a gap where it used to be. Hermione carried it and her diary back to a comfy armchair.

Hermione flipped to table of contents and skimmed through it. Surprisingly, it had what she was looking for. "Chapter eighteen," She read, "Communication Through Diaries. Page 349." Hands trembling, she turned to the page and saw paragraph after paragraph on the pages. So she eagerly began reading.

_**- 18 -**_

_**Communication Through Diaries**_

_There are many diaries around the world that can be used to exchange information with others. The most famous ones are the _Reusables_. There is only one pair and both are made of leather. This diary is said to have been created by Helga Hufflepuff herself. It has also been said that each of the diaries wipe off anything written on it during the start of a new school year at Hogwarts, hence their name. It had been passed down from generation to generation in the Hufflepuff family, until the line suddenly ceased. Not many know why, but the Hufflepuff family ceased to exist in 1483. The diaries were both sold and separated. One was bought by a wealthy man and the other disappeared. Little is known about these diaries and where they are located now. Rumor has it that the wealthy man passed it down through his family, unaware of its powers. The other diary may have been destroyed or hidden. But now, there is no trace of these artifacts, and if found could cost a fortune._

There was more writing talking about other diaries less unique, but Hermione didn't bother to read them. So was her diary one of the _Reusables_? It seemed so, because it did seem to match. She ran a finger along her diary and held it in her arms. Who in Hogwarts did she know that was wealthy? There were many families, and any of them could have the diary. It wouldn't help to find out, either.

Hermione marked the page and carried it to Madam Pince. "May I check this book out?" She asked the woman. The librarian sighed took out a stamp. She opened the book to the first page and stamped a black "L" on it. "You have two weeks to return it. If the deadline passes and you still haven't, it will keep knocking you on the head until you do." With a small smirk, she handed it back to Hermione.

Nodding knowingly, Hermione left the room, unaware that she had left her precious diary lying on the armchair she had most recently occupied. After she had left, Madam Pince noticed the diary and thinking that it was a book, put it on a shelf. Hermione walked straight to the Heads common room and immediately sat down to think in front of the fireplace. "Back so soon? I thought that you'd be at Hogsmeade with everyone else," Observed a cold voice from behind her. "Well you thought wrong. Now go away."

This had been the first time that they'd spoken to one another since Monday. "Why are you here, anyway?" Hermione didn't bother to look at him, and kept her eyes on the book. "Faked sick so Pansy would get off of my back." He replied simply and came into view. He sat down on the other side of the couch. "Mhmm…" Hermione opened the book and pretended to be deeply absorbed in what she was reading.

Draco happened to catch a glimpse of the front cover. "History of Diaries?" He gazed questioningly at her. "Yes…" Hermione took her chances and looked at him. He was frowning a little. Big surprise, there. "Are we actually starting to have a civil conversation?" She smiled.

His frown turning into a smirk, he answered, "Why? Are you happy about it, Mudblood?" Hermione groaned and stood up, slamming the book shut. It was something she wouldn't normally do, but Malfoy just infuriated her! "I'd only be happy if you actually stopped being such a ferret!" She marched past him and into her room. This wouldn't be the first time she slammed her door so hard that it made the place vibrate.

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Author's Note: Mm… So what do you think? Can you please tell me what I should do for the next chapter? Here are the options: 

A) skip to the ball  
B) continue with the next day at Hogsmeade  
C) skip to the next week and make Hermione remember about her diary  
D) other (tell me your idea)

Here's how you'll reply. Just say this in your reviews:

Next Chapter --- (letter of choice here)

I want at least five answers or else I won't continue with the next chapter.


	6. Quidditch

Author's Note: -is pleased at how many reviews there turned out to be- A couple of you didn't follow my instructions, which kind of made me frustrated because I like reviewers that will obey my every command. I'm going to take over the world someday, you know. And if you don't do things right, I shall send you to the dungeons! Mwuahahaha! Mmkay, I'm done laughing. ;P

Like, WHOA. I just remembered that there's supposed to be Quidditch match on Saturday. So I'll be writing that and also be making Hermione remember her diary.

**KissesfullofBlood**: Well, almost all stories have boring beginnings. -shrug-

**xXWitchXx**: It would seem so, but no not necessarily. In the first book, Hermione forgets that she has a book that has Nicolas Flamel in it (or was it just in the movie? Haven't read it in a while.) and that proves that she's just as human as anyone else. Humans _do_ forget things.

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Chapter Six: **Quidditch**

After that little outburst from her earlier on Saturday, Hermione decided to focus on other things. Her friends' Quidditch match that evening would be great. She walked slowly toward the pitch, taking her time. There was a good thirty minutes before it started. She smiled as she inhaled the fresh air outside. What a shame it was for Malfoy to ruin it for her. The doors behind her were thrown open and he ran past her. His cronies Crabbe and Goyle rammed into Hermione, causing her to cry out. She fell down and clutched her arm where one of them had elbowed her.

Hearing her cry, Draco turned and a flicker of concern flashed through his eyes. "Crabbe, Goyle, you idiots! What in the name of Merlin did you do that for?" He glared at them. "Go get ready for the game. I'll be right there… And take my broom, too, but if you break it, I'll make sure that Father knows." The two nodded and did as they were told. Draco then turned his attention to Hermione and bent down. He carried her in his arms and toward the hospital wing.

"What are you doing to me, Malfoy?" Hermione squirmed, but it only made him grip her tighter. "Shut up, Granger. I'm taking you to the hospital wing because those stupid gits crashed into you." She slapped his face and he stopped in his tracks, shocked. "In case you haven't noticed, my _arm_ is broken, not my leg!" She glared at him as if it were all his fault and pushed herself off of him, which was hard with one arm broken.

"Fine, you ungrateful little Mudblood." Draco turned his heel and stalked off to get ready for the game, hoping his broom hadn't been broken. Hermione sighed and glanced back at the Slytherin. She cradled her broken arm in the other and winced at the pain she felt. Not wanting to miss the game, she ran the rest of the way to the hospital wing to be welcomed by Madam Pomfrey. She easily healed the arm and Hermione said her thanks.

She hurried back to the stands. She could hear the whistle that marked the beginning of the game. Hermione ran faster and clambered up to find a spot. It didn't matter who she sat next to; she just concentrated on the game. "Go Gryffindor!" Yelled Hermione. She caught the attention of Ginny and they waved at each other. But Ginny wasn't the only person that she had caught the attention of.

Draco hovered high above the game and stared down at Hermione. He growled and watched her with contempt. A maroon blur that was no doubt Harry Potter whizzed toward Draco. He managed to dodge his opponent, and grew furious. "Potter!" He yelled at the other Seeker. "Watch where you're going, Potter!" Hastily turning his broom, he flew after him. The only reason for Potter to go that fast was that he'd seen the Snitch or that he was feigning it.

Hermione only noticed Draco watching her seconds before Harry flew past him. Her heart nearly stopped, but it returned to its normal pace when she saw that Draco was perfectly fine. She saw his mouth open as he shouted, and observed as he followed her friend. The commentary was booming through the stands, but she tuned it out and concentrated on the two boys.

Suddenly, the game was over when Harry caught the Snitch a split second before Draco had grabbed for it. Gryffindor erupted in cheers and Hermione knew that their joy would be carried all throughout next week. She ran down the stands to meet her friends on the field and looked at the final score. It was 120 to 194, with Gryffindor winning by 74 points. She embraced Harry, Ron, and Ginny all at the same time. After their group hug, a huge red and gold mob carried the team members away toward the castle. Hermione grinned at them and waved, but couldn't help feeling not entirely happy.

Her attention turned to the only other person on the pitch. Everyone else was already gone. Draco was sulking and pacing back and forth on the grass. Despite her mind screaming that she should leave him alone, she approached him cautiously. "Malfoy?" She said timidly, standing a few feet from him. "What?" He snapped at her.

"Are you okay?" She attempted a small smile, but turned out to look like a grimace. Draco scowled and mounted his broom. He flew into the sky without uttering another word. "Wait! Malfoy!" She didn't happened upon a forgotten broomstick and got on it. Having not properly ridden a broom, she flew into the air, swaying dangerously from side to side. She flew up to Draco as best as she could and reached a shaky hand over to him and put it on his shoulder. She thought she saw hurt in his eyes when the looked at her, but he turned his head away.

Hermione shifted uncomfortably on her broomstick. "Malfoy?" She watched his every movement and thought that she also saw a tear drop from his face. It was hard to tell, however, if her eyes were playing tricks on her. He moved his shoulder away from her hand and flew down to the ground. She frowned at him, wondering why she'd even bothered to fly up here. It's not like she cared about his well-being. Sighing, she started to fly down, but slipped. She gave a shriek as she fell off her broom. Her hand gripped the her broom tightly and she prayed that she would survive. Her fingers quickly became sweaty and she swung her arm up to try to grab the broom before plummeting to the ground. Hermione screamed loudly, hoping that by some miracle, she'd be saved.

The ground was growing rapidly closer and she closed her eyes to prepare for the worst. Her fear of heights didn't help in the least. "Granger!" She saw a glimpse of blonde hair and then crashed down onto something. Draco had seen her fall and attempted to catch her, but gravity was merciless and she ended up hurtling onto him. They both fell to the ground. Draco seemed to be aware now of what he had done, and shoved her off of him. "Watch where you're falling, Granger!" He shouted at her and left quickly with his broom.

Standing up and brushing herself off, Hermione looked around her and made her way back to the Heads common room. She wanted to write in her diary. When she entered the common room, she saw Draco sitting in the corner, writing in that book that she continuously kept seeing recently. His brows were furrowed as he stared at the pages. His eyes weren't moving, though.

Once in her room, her first instinct was to throw open the right drawer of her desk. Nothing was there. That's odd… Hermione looked under her pillow, but it wasn't there either. Her heart rate started speeding up and she nearly tore her room apart trying to find her diary. Standing in the middle of her room with her dresser's drawers open and various clothing lying everywhere, she moaned.

"Malfoy!" Hermione went back into the common room to find that he hadn't moved an inch. "Malfoy, have you seen a book lying around… Sort of like yours…?" He looked at her weirdly and slowly shook his head. "Umm, okay. Thanks though." She felt his eyes on her back as she walked out of the common room. Now where did she put it… "Oh, shit!" Hermione sprinted to the library as fast as she could and burst inside. Several heads rose and looked at her.

She straightened her hair a little and walked up to Madam Pince. "Excuse me. Did I leave a book here on an armchair earlier today?" The librarian looked thoughtful. "Perhaps you did. I remember putting a book on that shelf." She pointed to the place where she'd placed Hermione's diary. "You should take better care of your books." She added. Nodding, Hermione ran to the shelf and scanned through the whole thing. Nothing. She walked back to the counter, "Are you sure you put it there?" "Yes. I got it from one of the armchairs and put it there. Someone might've checked it out. I believe that Draco Malfoy, Dean Thomas, Lavender Brown, and Colin Creevey all checked out books. Now if you'd please leave, I'd like to get back to my work." She frowned at Hermione.

"Oh no…" Whispered Hermione and thanked Madam Pince, who looked annoyed. She looked around the room and found that Colin was conveniently sitting there reading a book along with a stack of books next to him. "Colin?" She sat down beside him and smiled. "Are those all the books you've checked out today?" Colin nodded excitedly. "They're all about photographers and cameras. I can't wait to try out some stuff with my camera!"

"Umm, do you mind if I looked through these books? I think one of them might be of use to me." She glanced at the stack. "Sure," He agreed quickly and went back to his book. Hermione looked at all of them and none of them looked like her diary. "Thanks Colin. I don't think I found what I needed." She got up to leave. "You're welcome."

Hermione sighed and walked slowly back to the Heads common room. Perhaps she would meet someone else along the way… Lucky for her, Malfoy was the other Head and Dean as well as Lavender were both in Gryffindor. She had a door in her room that would take her to it. With luck, they would be in the common room. She met no one familiar to her on the way back, and entered the common room with hope.

She looked around to find that Draco's room was closed and he wasn't in their common room. "Malfoy?" She knocked loudly on his door. No answer. "Malfoy!" Shouted Hermione, and she literally pounded on the door. The door flew open and Hermione fell forward into the blonde's arms. He was surprisingly only in his boxers, and had a sleepy look in his eyes. "What do you want, woman?" He snapped, apparently irritated. He pushed her off of him and ran a finger through his ungelled locks.

Blushing, she looked away and started to stammer, "Um… Um d-d… What happened to you?" She gawked at his chest, which was covered in long scars and bruises. He shrugged like it was no big deal. "My father's work. I usually hide it with a concealing charm. Now what do you want?" He scratched the back of his neck and leaned against the door frame. "Uh, do you mind if I take a look at the books you checked out at the library?" She took her mind off of his scars and focused on what she was really here for. "Only got one, but it's just a leather book with a bunch of writing on it."

"Mind if I see it?" Draco stared at her for a moment and shook his head. "Sorry, I lost it." He said simply and closed the door in her face. "Wait— Malfoy!" She banged on the door, but he didn't open it again. Cursing under her breath, she realized that he must have been the one that had taken it… But why did he want it for? Aggravation flooded her and she took a pillow from a chair and screamed in it. She'd have to sneak into his room and take back what was rightfully hers.

Her blame always remained on herself because she had been so stupid to leave it in the library for someone to take. She missed the long hours she spent writing in her diary and exchanging thoughts with him… It was something she would die for. She went back inside her room and looked around. It was a mess. She muttered a simple spell and everything was back in its rightful place. Now what to do to pass the time…

Hermione spotted the magazine lying on her bedside stand and took it. She left her door open so she could see when Draco left his room and flipped to the bookmarked page with her white dress. Grinning in spite of her situation, she scribbled the form on a piece of parchment and put it in an envelope. Inside the envelope she also added ten galleons; the cost of her dress. She saw the Gryffindor common room door appear and smiled inwardly as she went to it. It seemed to always appear whenever she wanted to go there regardless of the fact that she usually hadn't decided to go there yet.

"Hey, Ron? Where's Harry?" She walked up to the Weasley sitting in an armchair eating Chocolate Frogs. "Oh, he's looking for something in the dormitories. Want some?" Ron grinned and held up his box of candy. "Um, no thanks. Do you think he'd mind if I borrowed Hedwig? Or maybe I could borrow Pig?" She fingered the envelope anxiously. "Pig's been ill lately. I think that Harry wouldn't mind if you used Hedwig." Ron shrugged and stuffed three frogs in his mouth. "Okay. Thanks Ron."

She looked around and saw that Hedwig was at a window, tapping on it. At least she didn't have to go to the trouble and visiting the Owlrey. She opened the window and she hooted happily, landing on Ron's shoulder. A letter was attached to her ankle and she stuck her leg out for him to take it. Ron grabbed it and put it on the table to give to Harry when he came back down. "Come here, Hedwig." Hermione smiled and waved an owl treat in the air.

Hedwig responded almost right away and flew to perch on Hermione's shoulder. She pecked the treat away from Hermione's hand and hooted softly in gratitude. "Do you mind delivering this to this address?" She pointed to the address on her envelope. Hedwig made a nodding motion. "Great. Thanks Hedwig!" Hermione attached the envelope to the snowy owl's leg and with several flaps of her great wings, she flew out to deliver it.

Hermione couldn't help but grin. It wouldn't be long until she got her dress. Hedwig was a fast owl and the magazine had promised less than two days of delivery or her money back. She walked back inside her room and closed the door behind her. She couldn't wait to try on the dress. It would look awesome, she knew.

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Author's Note: Review or I'll hurt you. I got I think twelve reviews for the last chapter. Let's make that happen again, people! 

What should I do next?  
A) skip to the ball  
B) make something interesting happen, even if I have to force it out of myself and possibly kill myself along the way (you'd better give suggestions if you choose this! -sigh-)  
C) other (you tell me)

I want at least five answers. Kthx.


	7. Lucius

Author's Note: Like, WHOA! TWENTY-THREE reviews? You must all really love me. -cry- Someone hand me a tissue. Wait. A lot of you guys chose B, so you must all really hate me, too! -cries harder- Oh, and sorry I didn't update earlier. It's been hectic with school starting and everything.

**DCoD**: Yeah, I was planning on her getting back the diary and then they set up a meeting place and whatnot…

**sienna**: Don't worry. It'll come soon enough!

**ghilliekitten**: Nice idea! -jots down- I guess that'll be in this chapter. nn

**galleena**: Like, NO! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOUR SICK AND TWISTED MIND? xD Okay I'm kidding so no need to run away from me. Mmkay? Mmkay. Sorry but it must. Be. Draco. I mean, this is a Dhr story not a Rhr story. -doesn't enjoy Rhr stories-

**CrazyChick15**: Well, why not?

**Winona Corinne**: Aw, you're so sweet… They're not falling for each other. Draco's in a very difficult situation right now and he has mood swings and such. Especially since he lost the Quidditch game (as usual), he's a little upset. And you'll find out why…

**RavensWritingProphecies**: Nah, the ball part'll be funner if they found out it's each other… I haven't written that part yet so the tension is rising!

**fran**: Ooh that's an awesome idea! No, no, I'm kidding. Don't worry. I wouldn't let her miss it for the world!

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Chapter Seven: **Lucius**

Three days later, on Tuesday, Hermione eagerly rushed to the Great Hall for breakfast and sat down. Just after she had taken her seat beside Ginny, owls started swarming in to drop off packages. She noticed a rather large eagle owl with a square package drop it onto Draco's lap. The owl looked quite regal and beautiful. She examined all the owls coming in and fidgeted while she waited to see if her dress had come yet. Sure enough, a tawny owl dropped a skinny rectangular package into her arms. She tossed up three knuts for the delivery and embraced the package. "Oh, Ginny it's here!"

The Weasley turned her attention to her enthusiastic friend. "What is it?" Hermione trembled with excitement. "It's the muggle dress that I ordered on Saturday!" She grinned and stood up. "I'm going to go unwrap it in my room. Are you coming?" Ginny gave her a look of remorse. "Sorry, Hermione but I've made plans with Harry. He's coming to meet me in a couple of minutes.

"Alright." Hermione nodded understandingly and waved before hurrying out of the hall. She sped around the corner and turned back when she came across Lucius Malfoy and his son entering a classroom. She hoped that they hadn't seen her. Peeking around the wall, she saw that they hadn't, and whispered, "Accio invisibility cloak!" It came flying to her and she covered herself in it. "Sorry Harry." She mumbled and dashed inside the classroom before the door closed.

"Now, Draco. You know that I only want what's best for you…" Started Lucius as he strode to the front. Draco remained standing near the doorway. Hermione being closer to him than Lucius, heard him mutter, "Yeah, right." The elder Malfoy stopped walking and turned to face his son. "You know that I expect perfection from you. That is my top priority and it should be yours as well. You have failed in being the top student in the school." Draco frowned. "But I'm second best!" He protested.

Lucius gave Draco an unpleasant glare. Only Hermione noticed that he winced a little. "Yes, I am very well aware that you are second, but second is not first, is it? What's more is that you let a dirty little mudblood girl take your spot at the top!" His voice was steadily rising. "And what about Saturday's Quidditch match? You should be able to beat Potter! I've taught you to be the best since you were little, and what do you repay me with?" He raised his wand and pointed it at Draco. "I deeply regret having to do this, son. But it is the only way to discipline you."

"Crucio!" Draco only leaned over an inch. His eyes were slightly wider than usual, and his breathing became raspy. After about a minute, he clutched his stomach and leaned over. It wasn't much later when he fell on his hands and knees. His eyes squeezed shut as he felt every bone in his body threaten to break in little pieces. Countless daggers penetrated his skin and he grunted as his father kicked him in the stomach. "Get up, boy! I've taught you better!"

Nodding a little, Draco slowly tried to stand. Hermione felt tears brimming her eyes as she watched this. It was heartbreaking to see a father act this way to his own son. Even though he was her enemy, she couldn't help but feel sorry for him. No one deserved to be treated this way… Draco got halfway up before he collapsed again. Lucius had no sympathy in his eyes and no regret. "Pathetic. I've raised a coward. Now whether you like it or not, you will get the Dark Mark this Christmas. The Lord insists that you are ready to take on any challenge."

Hermione fought the urge to go over and hex Lucius. He was so mean to Draco… And he just took it all without fighting back. That wasn't the Malfoy that she had come to know and hate. The older man took off the curse and walked out without saying anything else. Draco was still on the ground, staring at the stone floor. Hermione chose this time to leave. With a backward glance, she left toward the common room. She looked behind her and saw that Draco had exited the room and was heading in the opposite direction. This would be a good time to go in his room and see if she could find her diary.

Sighing heavily, Hermione went inside and into his room. Surprisingly, he didn't lock or even close his room. She found that his bedroom was actually quite neat for someone that was such a prat. Backing out of the room, she dumped her parcel and cloak onto a couch and walked back inside. Her dress would have to wait. Now where to search first… She saw no sign of her diary in the room and began examining his bookshelf, desk, and even looked under his bed.

Finally, she found the diary hidden in the back of his closet beneath a pile of clothes. She cradled it in her arms and smiled to herself. Mission accomplished. She walked back out of the closet to run face-to-face with the Head Boy. "What are you doing here?" Hermione hid the diary in his robes, praying he hadn't noticed. It seemed that he hadn't. "Um, oh, nothing." She ran out of his room, feeling his gaze bore into her skin. Without so much as a glance back at him, she picked up her dress and Harry's cloak and went into the safety of her room.

Hermione exhaled slowly and took out the diary from beneath her robes. She leaned against her door for a few extra seconds before jumping onto her bed. She left the dress and cloak at the foot of her bed and opened the diary. Just as she had expected, there were several entries waiting for her.

_Hey, I just wanted to know where you wanted to meet me at the ball._

_Hello?_

_Why are you ignoring me…?_

Those were the first three out of eleven entries he had written in it. Hermione frowned and scribbled onto a fresh page quickly.

_Sorry, I think that I just misplaced my diary. Let's meet inside the entrance like we had planned for that morning a little while ago. Stand alone and let's just hope that we can find each other._

She waited for over an hour for his answer, but she never got one. Hermione gave up on waiting and decided to get ready for the next class. Care of Magical Creatures was next and Hagrid's cheery face was pleasant to see. She gathered her things and strode quickly through the castle and outside. A few dark clouds gathered overhead, threatening to rain, but it didn't come. She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself to try and keep herself warm.

Hermione arrived right on time, just seconds before Hagrid began the class. "Hey Hermione." Ron appeared at her side and he looked freezing. His whole body was shaking. "I have a real treat fer yer lot today." Hagrid grinned broadly as he spoke. "Since it's the righ' weather, we'll be going inter the forest. Don' wander too far, though 'cause yer don' want ter get lost if it rains. Follow me." He motioned them to follow them with a large hand and headed into the Forbidden Forest with Fang trailing behind him.

"That oaf's going to get us killed!" She heard Draco complain somewhere behind her. "If he does, my father'll hear about it and send him to his rightful place; Azkaban. I mean honestly, going into the forest before a storm? We might as well dig our graves right now." As if the clouds could hear him talking about the storm coming, it started to drizzle. "Oh, just wonderful!" Ginny whined and put her hands over her head. "Don' worry! I don' think it'll get any worse than this!" Reassured Hagrid, but no one was convinced that it was okay.

Unfortunately, rain started pouring down harder after only another minute of walking. "Alrigh' everyone! We can go back now!" A disgruntled Hagrid turned and waved for them to go back. Hermione took notice that Draco had fallen back behind everyone was walking alone, so she turned and walked up to him. "Hey, are you alright?" She had concern written all over her face. "What're you talking about, Granger? I'm perfectly fine!" He snapped, and shoved his hands in the pockets of his robes. The rainwater made his blonde hair seem darker and his bangs stuck to his face.

"Well, I…" Hermione contemplated on whether or not she should confess that she'd spied on them earlier. "Whoa…" Her eyes widened and she pointed over Draco's shoulder. He turned and saw what Hermione was pointing to. There was a whole herd of centaurs standing close to them, and they all were armed with bows and arrows. "Don't move." One stepped ahead of the rest. "Firenze, they're just foals." Another one came forward and beside the first. "Yes, but in they are almost adults." He raised a bow and arrow at them and the other followed suit. "Get out of our forest!"

Both turning immediately and running, they saw that everyone had disappeared out of the forest and they were left alone. It would be a miracle if they made it. Hermione tripped over a root sticking out of the ground and scrambled to her feet, but her foot was suck in between the root and the ground. Tears fell freely from her eyes, although it was hard to tell from the pouring rain. She tugged at her foot but it remained stuck there. Arrows were flying toward her but thankfully, none hit her.

She continued pulling incessantly and was just about to give up when someone bent down next to her and muttered a spell. Her foot slid out easily this time and the person helped her up. "Malfoy?" Hermione was surprised that he was even helping her and got to her feet. Her left foot, the one that had been trapped in the root, was throbbing painfully. More arrows flew at them and she felt one pierce her other leg. She fell back down, her whole body becoming even muddier. "Get up, Granger!" She saw Draco hovering over her and she squeezed her eyes shut. The pain traveled up from her leg and spread out to the rest of her body. That was all she remembered before she passed out.

**.-0-0-0-.**

Hermione's eyes slowly fluttered open. Her vision was blurry for a moment before everything became clear. She felt a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist, and was strangely comforted by this. Madam Pomfrey walked over to her and handed her a small cup. "Here, drink this." Hermione obeyed and handed the cup back to her. "I hope you don't mind the position you're in. We tried prying you away from Mister Malfoy's grip, but he has some very strong arms there."

Wait… MALFOY? She craned her head so that she could look at the face of the person holding her, and saw that this was indeed true. Everything seemed suddenly awkward. "What happened?" She asked the nurse, remembering what had happened. The pain in her leg seemed to have gone away. "It seems that Mister Malfoy carried you out of the forest with two arrows in his right leg and one in his shoulder. It was surprising that he made it that far. Luckily, Hagrid saw you two and immediately rushed you two here."

Hermione nodded slowly. All this information had trouble sinking in. "Um, okay, thanks." She tried to get up, but Draco's grip was too tight. She'd just have to wake him. Squirming so that she turned onto her stomach, she looked into his face. He looked so peaceful when he was sleeping. And he looked quite attractive, too. Wait— what was she thinking? Hermione shook his shoulders. "Wake up, Malfoy!" She screamed into his ear. His eyes snapped open and his upper body swung forward a little, causing his lips to crash into hers. Hermione's eyes grew larger when she realized what had happened. Pushing him away, she shouted, "Let go of me!"

Draco did so willingly, and even shoved her off of him and his bed. "What do you think you're doing, Granger?" He glared at her and got off the bed. "Wait just a moment, Mister Malfoy. Drink this." Madam Pomfrey rushed back into the room after hearing their yelling. She handed him a cup of the same liquid that Hermione had swallowed. He eyed it doubtfully before draining it. He spit it all out and wiped his mouth. "What the hell is this?" He threw the cup down.

"It helps bring the pain out." Madam Pomfrey explained calmly. "I'm fine," Spat Draco and stalked out of the infirmary. There was a slight limp in his right leg as he walked. "Thank you Madam Pomfrey." Hermione smiled a little and followed him out the door. It wasn't clear to her why Draco had helped her, but she was grateful. She almost regretted sneaking into his room without permission. Almost. He had still taken her diary and it was rightfully hers. She headed silently to the library and decided that it was best if Harry and Ron didn't know about what had happened. Ginny would be understanding, though.

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Author's Note: So what do you think? Please review and tell me! Oh, and I think I'm going to make have the ball be in the next chapter, okay? If you don't want this to be, speak now or forever hold you peace! Mwuahahaha! I know a bunch of you have been waiting forever for this moment… So please do review because then I'll update sooner! 


	8. Winter Ball

Author's Note: Thanks for the wonderful reviews everyone! So far, no one's objected to the ball being in this chapter and yay! Now for the moment you've all been waiting for…!

After these messages. ;D

**RavensWritingProphecies**: Thanks. Your wish is my command… I was going to do that anyway. xD

**DcoD**: Agreed! And thank you. I got the centaur idea from one of my old fanfics that I lost at Yeah, that's just one of my— er, I mean HIS… One of HIS good sides. :)

**brightone**: NO! NOT THE -inserts dramatically horrible event here-! -dies-

**sienna**: I know. He's a pissy, hot, GORGEOUS jerk! And I know it's obvious but he always denies it in his head. I feel like writing things through his point of view but it's much too late for that, now. It's been Hermione's view for most of the story.

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Chapter Eight: **Winter Ball**

For the next weeks before the ball, Hermione and Draco refused to talk to each other, let alone look at each other. If Draco and Ron or Harry got into a fight, Hermione dragged her friends away. Hermione acted as if nothing had happened, but her thoughts often strayed to him. Thoughts about what had happened with Lucius, and how he had saved her from the centaurs. Especially what had occurred in the hospital wing, though.

The Saturday before the students were to leave Hogwarts for the holidays was the Winter Ball. Hermione wondered how she was going to deal with going to the ball with the other Head. They hadn't made any eye contact in the least. She hurried through decorations, which were very beautiful.

First, the two of the four long tables were taken away and the other two were pushed to either side of the hall for refreshments. The staff table had disappeared as well. Four average-sized Christmas tree stood at each corner of the Great Hall. All were decorated by the prefects. In the middle stood a large tree that almost reached the ceiling. Hermione decorated it herself. It was quite a sight, really. Cut-out snowflakes made of white and light blue construction paper were charmed to glue itself onto the walls. The ceiling was enchanted to look cloudy and snow fell from it, although the snow wasn't tangible.

Small tables were set up around the edge of the room along with chairs so friends could chat and eat. Hermione and Ginny sat at one of these and were chatting quietly about the ball. The prefects and Draco had already left so they were the only to that remained. "Let's go get ready for the ball," Hermione suggested, although it was six hours away. Ginny quickly agreed, knowing that girls took forever to get ready. They wouldn't be the only ones getting ready at this time.

"We can do everything in my room! And in the Heads bathroom, too! I'm sure that Malfoy won't be using it for a long time." Hermione groaned and slapped her forehead. "Oh Merlin… I'm supposed to be going with Malfoy to the ball! How could I be so stupid and forget?" She sighed and looked crestfallen. "Now I'll have to tell that guy that I can't go with him…" She closed her eyes and bit her lip. Ginny was still bright, though. "Don't worry. All you have to do is dance once with Malfoy and that'll count, right? Then you can spend the rest of the night with the diary guy."

The Head Girl instantly brightened and stood up. "You're right, Ginny. Why shouldn't I spend the night with him? Thanks so much!" The girls embraced and then hurried up to the Hermione's room. Once inside, Hermione went into her closet and got out her unopened package. She'd never gotten around to taking out the dress, but she knew that it was flawless.

"You can go get everything you need through that door." She indicated to the door that had just appeared beside the original one. "Was that there before?" Ginny looked a bit confused, but tried opening it. "Hey, it's locked!" She turned the knob and pulled harder. It didn't budge at all. "Let me try." Hermione reached forward and it opened easily. "Um, sorry. Must be because only I can open it." She laughed softly. Ginny shrugged and walked through. "I'll be only five minutes."

Hermione left the door open a little and got out the necklace she had bought at Hogsmeade. It was sparkled prettily and it made her smile. She set it carefully on her desk and brought her attention to her dress. She beamed and her fingers shook as she opened the box. Finally, she pulled it out, neatly folded. She took it by its sleeves and let it drop down. It was definitely perfect. "Wow, you really have great taste!" Ginny was back and she threw her stuff onto her friend's bed to examine the dress. "And it's really smooth, too." She had two fingers trailing down the fabric. "It'll look great on you."

"Now let's get ready for the dance!" The red-headed girl grinned and pulled Hermione out her room. "So this is the bathroom, right?" She reached over to open Draco's door. "Wait, no, Gin—" The door was already open and they gaped at what they saw. "What the fuck!" Draco was in his boxers, and it seemed that he was putting on a pair of pants because he tripped over them and fell. "What the hell are you two doing here, he stormed to the door and pushed them out. His chest looked normal. He must've used the concealing charm. "I thought that this was the bathroom." Ginny stifled a laugh when she looked at Hermione's pale face. No sooner had she paled when the color rose to her cheeks. "Sorry…" She gritted her teeth and muttered fiercely, "Let's go, Ginny!" She practically pulled off her friend's arm dragging her to the actual bathroom. "He has a nice body," The Weasley remarked, laughing as soon as they got inside.

Hermione rolled her eyes and looked at her hair. She wondered how she would do it, and decided on just a bun. She used her wand to do a cleaning spell and a charm to untangle her hair. Ginny did the same. "See, what we girls do is put on our make-up to take up the time. Want me to do you?" Hermione sighed and nodded slowly. She knew that Ginny was an expert at this and wouldn't mess up, but she hadn't used a lot of make-up before. "Just a little bit, okay?"

Already getting out her things from a purse, Ginny nodded. "Okay, she we'll just put a little blush on you…" She did so, and then got out some pale blue eyeshadow. "And a little of this…" She dabbed it on Hermione's eyelids. Next, she took out some lipstick and put it perfectly on Hermione's lips. It was a light pink color, barely noticeable. "So what do you think?" Hermione held her breath as she turned to look into the mirror. "Oh, it's wonderful, Ginny!" She hugged her friend, careful not to get any make-up smeared or anything.

The rest of the five hours were spent putting on Ginny's make-up, changing into their dresses, putting on their necklaces, and doing their hair. Ginny had even convinced Hermione to put on a pair of small topaz earrings to match her necklace. Ginny decided to just let her hair down and wore a pair of small hoop earrings and her green dress robes. Everything was perfect. So ten minutes before the ball was to start, they walked over there. The prefects and Heads were supposed to go a bit earlier to make sure that everything looked good.

All the prefects' except Ginny, who had already seen Hermione in the muggle dress, heads turned to look at Hermione. Even Draco took a moment to glance surprisingly at her. Blushing a little, Hermione smiled as a couple of the prefect girls complimented her on her dress. She watched as Ginny dispersed from Hermione and looked at the time. Just a minute before the ball started. She stationed herself at the side of the Great Hall to find that Draco was standing there too. She ignored him, but could feel his gaze traveling up and down her body.

Her dress had a halter top, going up from the front and around her neck so that part of her back would be bare. Her necklace hung securely around her neck, continuously sparkling. Hermione's brown hair was pulled into a neat bun with two curly strands of hair framing her face. The hem of her dress reached down to her ankles, covering the white slippers she was wearing. It brought back memories of the Yule Ball in fourth year.

Students started pouring into the hall, talking loudly and the music started to play, making their voices quiet down. The first song was a lively one, and many danced to the music. Hermione saw Harry wave at her, Ginny beside him. Ron was with them, but it didn't seem that he had a date. He merely glanced at Hermione before looking away again. After that, half an hour passed by with no sign of anyone but Draco standing at the door. He had stopped studying her and just leaned against the wall, looking around absently.

Having nothing better to do, she started talking to him. And for the first time in a long time, may I add. "Malfoy, why are you standing here?" His head turned so he could look at her. "I could ask you the same thing." He drawled, and shoved a hand in one of the pockets of his dark green dress robes. "I'm waiting for someone… But I guess they're not going to show up." Hermione heaved a sigh and looked around the hall. No one was paying the slightest attention to them. Even Ginny was too busy dancing with Harry to look at her.

Draco was looking at her strangely, and he edged closer to her. "Maybe you were waiting for… me?" He suggested softly, staring at her. "That's silly. Why would I—" Suddenly she remembered that book he'd been writing in before… The one that looked almost like hers. She took a few steps away from him. "You're him? You're the guy who's been writing to me through your diary?" She stared at him with disbelief.

"Believe it or not, Granger, yes." He wasn't smirking at all, and even looked a little tired. Not the least bit mean or astounded. "So…" Hermione felt her eyes welling up with tears. "So you really didn't mean what you said? About everything? About how you really like me and about all our similarities and everything?" Several tears chose that moments to roll down her cheeks.

Looking uncomfortable, he pulled her to himself and let her cry into his expensive robes. It was unbearable to watch someone in pain. Even though she'd most likely never felt to pain he did with his father, he'd always tried to help someone… But he usually hid in that personality that everyone hated so he never could help. "Don't cry, Granger. I honestly did mean it." He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was being nice to a mudblood. What would Lucius say?

All of a sudden, he felt something hard run into the side of his head and he fell over, the other side of his head hitting the wall. He felt the pain rush through his head, giving him a major headache. He should have been used to pain by now, but he wasn't. His eyes opened a little and he saw no doubt the Weasel himself. Ron was shouting at him, making his headache even worse and apparently, he had been the one that had punched Draco.

"What did you do to Hermione? Look at her, she's crying!" Ron was red as a beet. "I didn't do anything to her, Weasel!" Draco rubbed her head and stood up, smoothing his hair. "Then why else would be crying! You have no right to touch her, ferret!" Hermione wiped away her tears and pushed Ron away. "I'm fine, Ron. Just… go. You've done enough for me." She continued to push him away until he reluctantly headed off to one of the refreshments table. He was still glaring at Draco.

"That Weasley has problems." Draco muttered and leaned against the wall for support. Hermione managed a small smile and took out her wand. "Fine, hex me if you want." He squeezed his eyes shut, preparing for the worst. Something like warts popping up onto his skin or something. But instead, his headache was gone. He cautiously opened an eye and saw that Hermione was smiling at him. "Umm… thanks." She did another spell on herself so that it looked like she hadn't been crying at all.

"Would you like to dance?" Hermione asked quietly. Draco nodded, smiling for the first time since he was an infant. He took her hand and they walked over to the other couples dancing together. "You look ravishing tonight." Complimented Draco. He put her hands on her waist and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Coincidentally, the song that was currently playing was a slow song. Hermione leaned her head just under his chin. She could feel Ron's gaze on them, but ignored it.

The slow song ended and an energetic beat flowed through the room. Draco wore his trademark smirk and ground his hips against her. Hermione blushed and just continued dancing. After two more of the same songs, it returned to a slow one. She stepped forward to go back into their original position, but someone barged in and pulled him away. "Pansy, what are you _doing_?" Draco shoved the other girl away, but she was persistent and kept clinging onto his arm. "But Drakie, you owe me a dance!" She pouted at him.

"Get away from me, Pansy. Can't you see I have to dance with the Head Girl?" He glanced at Hermione, his eyes softening a little when he looked at her. "But you said that you would come with me!" Pansy whined. "No I didn't! I SAID THAT I'D NEVER GO ANYWHERE WITH YOU FOR AS LONG AS I LIVED!" Draco yelled, and almost everyone around them turned their heads toward them.

Tears started streaming down Pansy's face and she burst out of the hall. Hermione watched her go, not feeling any sympathy for her. Draco smiled a little and moved closer to Hermione. "Now where were we?" He grinned as Hermione reached up to put her arms around his neck again. Leaning forward, he wrapped Hermione in an unexpected kiss. At first, Hermione was still trying to process what he was doing, but closed her eyes and kissed him back. Draco's tongue touched her lower lip, asking for entrance. Hermione let her lips part to let it in. She felt his warm tongue explore her mouth. It all felt so good… Until Ron interrupted, that is.

"HERMIONE, WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU DOING?" An infuriated Ron shouted at them, attracting attention from everyone. "Why are you kissing that— that ferret?" He pointed accusingly at Draco. Hermione pulled away from Draco and looked pleadingly at Ron. "Ron!" She looked embarrassed and most of all, hurt. Lucky for her, Ginny came to the rescue. "Come on, Ron, let's go." His little sister hauled him out of the Great Hall, Harry helping her. Harry was looking at Hermione in a way that told her that he wanted an explanation later.

She turned back to Draco and looked apologetically at him. "Um, sorry about that…" Draco shrugged and smirked at her. "I wouldn't blame him for being jealous. You really are stunning." He complimented, causing her to blush. "Now the Head Boy and Head Girl will shall one last dance before the ball ends." Announced Dumbledore. "Shall we?" Draco held out his hand to Hermione. She grinned and nodded. The last song was another slow song.

As they danced, Hermione remembered about that meeting with Lucius. The one that she had secretly went to. "Mal— um, Draco…" She felt weird saying his first name. "Draco, what will you father think?" She sighed and leaned against his chest. It felt comforting. "What do you mean?" He looked a bit nervous. "To tell you the truth, I snuck into that classroom with you and your father. He's so mean to you…" She gazed up at his eyes. He smiled, "Don't worry. I can deal with him."

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Author's Note: Whoot! I loved writing this chapter. -grin- They're so sweet, aren't they? Please review, and if you have any suggestions for the next chapter, please do tell me because I have no idea what to write. 


	9. Betrayal

Author's Note: Muchas gracias for all the nice reviews! Sorry I haven't updated. Since school started, I've had piles of homework and such. And now I'm not as obsessed with DMHG. Why? Because now I'm completely and totally obsessed with roleplaying with people over AIM and having them play Draco and me as my made-up. XD I know, I'm weird. Whatever. Point is, I might not update as much as I used to. But nonetheless, here's the chapter you've been waiting for! Chapter nine!

**DCoD**, **Ilovesexydark**, **runaway mental patient**, **4seasons solstice**, **StrawberryJoy**, **Snow Mouse**, and **BrasilianGellyPenguin**: Thanks for the suggestions! I love you all for helping!

**lok0x0hp**: I don't know.. I might have something drastic happen just to make it interesting... xD But seriously, I'm not sure. I'm just making it up as I go along.

**All other reviewers**: Thanks for your support! I don't think I've gotten any reviews telling me how horrible my story is, although they are welcome. xD

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Chapter Nine: **Betrayal**

All throughout the winter holidays, Hermione worried about how Draco was doing. She had stayed at Hogwarts and Ron and Harry and been continuously pestering her about the Winter Ball. Well, at least Harry was. Ron refused to talk to her, let alone give her any indication that she was alive. Her Christmas would be miserable if she hadn't had Ginny. And it also turned out that she even got a present from Draco. How he had managed to send her one, she didn't know. She had eagerly unwrapped it and found that inside was a beautiful heart-shaped gold locket. She had tried to pry it open, even using magic, but hadn't been successful yet.

On the evening that Draco and the other students were supposed to return to the castle, Hermione was both excited and anxious. Merlin knows what had happened the Draco over the holidays. She just hoped that it was nothing too painful. She bit her lip as numerous students flooded the main entrance to the castle and she tiptoed to see if she could find any blonde heads. A few passed by, but they weren't Draco.

After several long minutes had passed, the crowd thinned out. Draco was among these last few people. As soon as she spotted him, she nearly knocked someone over and grinned at him. "Thanks so much for the locket!" He looked up at her, his eyes completely vacant. "No problem." His words were quiet and low. "Are you okay?" She gazed at him like a concerned mother. What was the matter with him? Somehow, they ended up inside their common room and it had never looked so welcoming to Draco. He beckoned Hermione over to him and pulled back part of his sleeve. There, clearly visible on his skin, was the Dark Mark.

Moments of silence passed between them before Draco spoke. "My father put the Imperius Curse on me. I couldn't refuse." He bit his lip and looked up at Hermione's astonished face, forcing a small smile. "But it isn't that bad, I suppose." Hermione finally found her voice and slipped the sleeve back over it. "Wow.. You really need to tell Dumbledore! Otherwise.. If they find out by themselves, you could go to Azkaban."

"No!" Draco blurted, almost glaring at her. "I can't. They'll put me in Azkaban either way. But even if they don't, Lucius will find out and there's no telling what he'll do to me... We'll just have to keep this between ourselves." He sighed and fell on the loveseat in the corner. "You won't tell him, will you? Dumbledore, I mean." He asked in a tired voice and looked nervously at her. Hermione nodded, "Of course not." She gazed at him, standing in the same position she had been in for the past ten minutes. She didn't know what to feel... Whether she was to feel scared that he had become a Death Eater, upset that he wouldn't agree with her, relieved and grateful that he was alive, or nervous that he might be thrown to Azkaban just for having the Mark.

"Well, I guess I'm going to go to bed." Hermione smiled at him and walked inside her common room. She shut the door and looked at the space next to her door. Almost at once, the other door materialized and she opened it. She nearly jumped ten feet in the air when Ginny rushed up to her. She hadn't expected anyone to approach her. "You won't believe what I've found out!" The little Weasley exclaimed, dragging Hermione back into her room and closing the door. She pushed the confused brunette on the bed and sat down beside her. Ginny took a deep breath before talking. "You know Pansy Parkinson? Well, I overheard her telling another girl that she would do anything to break you two up! And she even owled Draco's father about you two!"

Hermione seemed strangely calm. "Well I don't think we were even together in the first place... But how will he deal with his dad? I mean, even though it isn't true, his dad will probably kill him. I'm a 'mudblood' after all." She said, using the more offensive term for a muggleborn like herself. "Anyway, thanks Gin. I think I'm going to go to sleep. I'm really tired." She lied and pushed Ginny out of the room before the younger girl had time to answer.

Sighing, Hermione opened her door to the common room a crack. Fortunately, Draco seemed to have locked himself in his room and was nowhere in the room. She snuck out of the room and walked in the direction of the library, where comfort could always be found. On the way, she heard soft voices coming from inside a classroom and caught a few words including 'mudblood' and 'Pansy'. She peeked inside and gasped at what she saw.

Apparently, the people inside the classroom had ceased their talking and were making out. These people included Pansy and Draco... Draco? How could Draco be in here when he was in his room? Unless he had closed his door just to make her think that he was in his room. Pansy was sitting on a desk and Draco was standing over her, _snogging_ her. He started to unbutton her shirt, but Hermione turned away before she saw anything more. Tears brimmed her eyes and she ran the rest of the way to the library.

Despite Madame Pince's angry barks that the library was closed, she burst inside and planted herself on the floor amongst the bookshelves. The librarian seemed to have given up on shooing her away because she didn't try to find her. Her throat ached painfully, and her heart as well. She hadn't been sure that Draco had actually felt something between them... And she wasn't sure that she had, either, but she was sure now.

Tears spilled down her cheeks freely, and she brought her knees close to her body. How could she have been so stupid? How could she have fallen for Draco Malfoy? She sobbed noiselessly, pondering these questions for nearly an hour before leaving. She unwillingly returned to the Head common room, hoping that Draco was asleep, or at least in his room. She didn't want to confront him after seeing him kiss Pansy, and possibly do more with her.

Sadly, luck wasn't on her side, and Draco was sitting on a couch in the common room, very much awake. Hermione avoided his gaze, but felt him staring at her. After she was halfway to her room, he spoke. "Where have you been, Hermione? You had me worried sick!" Hermione shot a glare in his direction, feeling her lamentation turn into anger and hatred toward him. "Where have _you_ been, Malfoy?" She would no longer use his first name, now. "I _know_ that you were making out with Pansy, and Merlin knows how far you went! How _dare_ you talk to me after that!" She screamed. The entire castle would have heard her, if their walls weren't soundproof. "You little snake!" Her voice softened greatly, and her sadness came back. "I trusted you, Malfoy. I trusted you." Her voice was barely a whisper now. She gazed at him with grief in her eyes before rushing to her room and slamming it shut. There was a click as she locked the door.

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Author's Note: Ooh, drama! -gasp- Please review, and ideas are always welcome! I'm in need of them right now. -gets toknees and begs- Anyway, it's late and I have school in the morning. Thanks for reading this far into my story!

And sorry this chapter's a bit short. I have a whole bunch of tests this week. Apparently, our teachers want to cram stuff into our brains before break. Pfft...


	10. Changes

Author's Note: Eh, I am _such_ a procrastinator, I'm sorry. I recently had a freakishly huge test worth half my grade, and a research paper that made me almost die. I'll try to have another chapter up soon, too. -nodnod- Whoot. Anyway, big thanks to those who suggested ideas, they were great! And also too those who cheer me on even though I'm a big fat loser! Love ya'll!

**debarie**: Thanks so much for the private messages. And your idea for this story isn't too cliché, seeing as mine would've been even more predictable. So, I'm using yours!

**.devioustricks.**: Thank you for the correction, but I like making paragraphs almost identical in size. xD It's fun. But I'll keep that thought in mind.

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Chapter Ten: **Changes**

The next day, Hermione refused to acknowledge his existence anymore. She passed by him as if he was nothing but air, and didn't seem to know whenever he was standing near her. For weeks they went on like this, and somehow Draco did not seem to care. He returned to his usual, bratty self, tormenting Harry, Ron, Hermione, and everyone else as often as he could. He now regularly brought Pansy to the Heads' quarters and locked themselves in his room for hours at a time. They didn't even control themselves, and often you could hear shouts and screams and moans coming from the room.

As for Hermione's diary, it lay in a corner of her closet, gathering dust and isolated from her other things. If only she knew that there were new entries in it every day, every hour, even perhaps every minute at times. These entries were of great importance, and if she didn't find out about them soon... Let's just say that trouble would rear its hideous head.

One Saturday morning, Hermione woke early. She had trouble sleeping. She had these ghastly nightmares of Draco being imprisoned in his own manor. He was writing in his diary, desperately trying to contact her. In her nightmare, he was sitting trapped in his room, scribbling every few seconds, refusing to look away from his book. A frustrated look permanently etched on his face, he often raised the book over his head as if he were going to fling it across the room, but always lowered it slowly, almost painfully. He looked to be half-starved. He barely ate or slept, having spent most of his time with his black diary.

Lying on her bed, Hermione contemplated what the nightmare had been. Well, it wasn't exactly much of a nightmare, but it pained her to see Draco so helpless and unhappy... Wait. Why should she care about him anymore? He was just using her and she had seen him with Pansy with her very own eyes! She let out a muffled scream in her pillow and threw it at the door leading to the Heads' common room.

Sighing, she laid still for a few seconds before rising and walking to the door. She left the pillow on the floor and opened the door. It just so happened the misfortune decided to fall upon her, and Draco was already awake. He was sitting near the fire, and looked up when she opened the door, his emotionless grey eyes piercing through her like a spear would a fish. She paused and returned the stare. Something about him seemed different... Before she could linger on this thought any longer, she was interrupted.

"What the hell are you staring at, filthy Mudblood?" He sneered, raising his chin a bit higher and giving her a look that made it clear that he thought himself much more superior than she. He tossed her the usual smirk that he had returned so recently. How pleasant, right?

Hermione just made a face at him and slammed her door back shut. Damn it! Why did that prat have to always be there, making her feel lower than any life form on the planet? She sighed and clenched her hands tightly, fighting the urge to throw something. Or break something. Anything to release her anger. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply through her nostrils. Then exhaled through her mouth. In, out. In, out. She returned to her usual composure and approached her closet. After opening it and searching through different outfits to wear, she finally picked out a pair of dark jeans. While looking for a suitable top, something in the corner caught her eye.

Leaning down, she picked up the book lying on the floor. There was a thin sheet of dust lying on it, and she had to brush it off. She sneezed. After rubbing her nose, she brought it back to her bed, completely forgetting what she had originally looked in her closet for. There, in gold, was the inscription, 'Diary'. Tears brimmed her eyes as she reminisced everything that had been accomplished from it. And everything lost. In a moment of lament, she wiped her eyes and sat down.

Suddenly, flashes of Hermione's nightmares flashed through her mind and she quickly flipped open the cover. Strangely enough, there was an entire page of writing that she hadn't remembered seeing before. And they were in Draco's writing. She quickly flipped to the next pages. Both were filled completely as well. She turned the page again and again and got the same results.

The first entry consisted of, "Hermione! Please answer! Lucius has locked me in my room and has taken my place at Hogwarts using a Polyjuice potions! He plans to break your heart and will kill you on the final day of January! Please read this, Hermione!"

Hermione sat cross-legged on her bed, gaping at what the pages contained. Disbelief rushed through her mind, but she knew that what he had written was true. Her heart ached, and she felt horrible for blaming Draco for things his father had done. Now she knew that her dream had actually been reality. Or at least close to it. Although she felt like crap, she urged herself not to break down into sobs. She had no time to lose. What was she to do about this situation?

But first thing was first. Flipping to an empty page, she wrote quickly and a bit messily, with a shaky hand. "Draco," she recited aloud, "I'm so sorry for not answering. I'm been just so angry with you. I mean your father, who is impersonating you. Thank you for warning me, and I'm terribly sorry for doubting that you'd ever stop caring. I will send for help to bring you back, and don't worry. I'll be extra careful of Lucius."

She bit her lip, and stared at the page, hoping that it was true that Draco didn't stop looking at the diary. Relief flooded throughout her body when she got a reply seconds later.

_Thank Merlin, you finally looked! I've missed you so much! You don't know how much happier I am, right now! And it doesn't matter. I just want you to be safe. Lucius could've fooled anyone. But don't send anyone to take me back. It's too dangerous and I'm sure no one would want to help me._

_I miss you, too, Draco! I wish I could see you. I need to help, though! I can't bear to see you suffer, and I know that you aren't eating! You look a mess!_

_How do you know?_

_This may sound stupid, but I had a dream about you. More like a nightmare, actually... That's how I got to look in here._

_It's not stupid. At least it made you look here, or you could be dead soon._

_I know! The 31st is coming up soon, and I probably wouldn't have found out until it was too late..._

_Hey, I have to go. Father insists that Greyback comes and checks on me every hour. He thinks that I'll somehow escape or something. As if. He took away my wand and put enchantments all over my room. Talk to you at 3:00. Afternoon, of course._

_Bye._

Hermione sighed deeply and closed her eyes. She sat there in a meditating sort of position for a minute before turning to the second door that was now visible on her wall. She smiled a little and stuck her diary under her pillow before leaving her bed and opening the door. Few heads turned as she walked into the Gryffindor common room. They had gotten used to her coming in and out of here now. She looked around and saw Harry and Ron sitting by themselves at a table, apparently trying to do their homework.

"Hey!" She put on her cheeriest smile as she walked up to them. Harry glanced at Ron and smiled back at Hermione, but said nothing. Ron continued with his homework, as if Hermione hadn't just come up to them. "I don't think that's right." She commented, pointing to the second problem on Ron's Defense Against the Dark Arts homework. "I don't think that Diranto is a spell that blocks hexes, let alone a spell at all." She stifled a little giggle.

"Bug off, will you, Hermione?" Ron snapped, turning for a mere second to glare at her. "Harry and I don't need you breathing down our backs just because we got one or two questions wrong on our homework! For once, will you just stop being such a know-it-all?"

Hermione crossed her arms, and returned his glare. "I'm just trying to help, Ronald! I came here, to ask if you guys could help me, but right now, I don't think you're going to!" Her voice rose enough so that everyone in the common room turned to stare and listen. "Ever since that stupid ball, you've been ignoring me and if you talk to me at all, it's just to tell me something that'll either hurt my feelings or make me wish you were dead! Whether you like it or not," She lowered her voice so that only the two boys could hear her, "I like— Yes, maybe love, Draco Malfoy. Now if you have a problem with that, you're not my friend at all, and I deserve an apology from you!" She growled, and pivoted so that her body was facing away from them. Tilting her chin in a defiant pose, she stalked out through the portrait hole of the room with Ron looking bewildered and Harry looking uneasy.

She did not regret shouting at Ron in the least, for she believed that it served him right. It actually felt a bit good to let out some steam, but it was just too bad that Harry had to go through her yelling as well. She would make an apology to him later. _After_ Ron apologized to her. Now, she would start her search for Ginny. The youngest Weasley was her last and only hope now, to help her take Draco from his father's clutches. It didn't take her long to find her having an animated conversation with one of her fellow sixth years.

Hermione approached Ginny and her friend in a corridor near the Ravenclaw common room. They seemed to be discussing how difficult their classes were, especially after the break. "Ginny, may I please speak to you?" Hermione asked politely, smiling at her and the other girl. "This is really, really, important."

"Um.. Sure, Hermione. I'll talk to you later, Melissa." Ginny waved as her friend walked off, looking back at them once before turning the corner. "What's up, Hermione?" She turned back to Hermione and waited expectantly for Hermione to start talking. By the looks of her face, this was honestly very important. At least to the older girl.

Hermione sighed, not knowing where to begin. She looked around to make sure that no one was around, and for good measure dragged Ginny to the nearest classroom. She took a deep breath and began, "Well, you know how I think that Draco's cheating on me?" She paused. "Well, it turns out that during the break, his dad switched places with him, and locked him up in his room! You've got to help me break him out, Gin! Ron won't even treat me right, and Harry probably won't want to get involved with him, either! I mean, he and Draco have hated each other since first year! And Lucius is going to try and kill me in a week!" She looked extremely upset now.

Ginny just stared at Hermione, wide-eyed, for a long time after she had finished talking. "Wow. Of course I'll help you, Hermione! But we can't do it alone. I promise I'll convince Harry and stupid-head Ron to help. Don't mind Ron. He's just a hard-headed git. But truthfully, I think he likes you, Hermione." She confessed, "I mean, I've seen him look at you, and he's always going on about how great you are. Until that ball, anyway. Now he's all depressed. He's probably just jealous because you don't like him back..."

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Author's Note: Eh, it's corny, I know... I'm sorry for the corniness. It's not my fault I was cursed with this unfortunate gift of insanely retarded writing skills. D: Don't hurt me. -cower- 

Review, and I'll update sooner! Upon getting sixteen reviews, I'll start the next chapter right away and I'll have it updated in a week of that time!


	11. Preparations

Author's Note: Iloveyouall. Sorry I haven't updated. I mean, I'm really, really sorry. I admit that I'm not really into this story anymore and I admit that I don't have any excuses this time, and that it was a result of my laziness. I realize that I cannot promise you guys anything anymore without breaking it, and am surprised that I haven't had a truckload of flame reviews... Yet. That's why I really appreciate you all so much!

**debarie **and** hanvu**: Since an explanation probably wouldn't fit in future chapters, I'll tell you about Lucius and Pansy. They're really not sleeping with each other. Just you know, faking it. Why Lucius want to be with Pansy? EW. That scares me.

**Ellie**: Is just so _wrong_ to want to be appreciated? I mean, I respect your opinion and all, but I must argue. Doesn't every writer here at want as many reviews as possible? It makes me feel happy, okay? And of course it would take me at most a week to write my story! Maybe even more! I'm sure you all know that school eats up most of your time, right? With homework, tests, and all that crud. Now I add my daily swim practices. I have nearly three hours of it each day after school, which gives me little time to do my homework. Not to mention swim meets, which I have at one or two times a month. I have to go on both Saturday and Sunday mornings until the afternoon each time. I get one after another, and it /is/ tiring. It's hard to update in like, a day with all these things going on. Writing stories is just something I do in my spare time.

**windsinger257**: I wrote chapter nine before debarie gave me the idea. Let's just say.. He didn't want to arouse any suspicion yet.

**Zippy-Wings**: Okay, okay.. I won't for now. 3

**rigflurry**: Hey, thanks!

**pandorina86**: No, don't! Because then the smell will drive me away and I'll never ever return!

**Sllug92**: Good point. xD

**kostos**: Aww, thanks. I'm picky, too. I prefer stories with good plot lines and chapters either about the same or longer than mine. But I'm not currently into reading fanfictions right now.

**Sunflower18**, **animerocksjapanrocks**, **Hippielover459**, **ghilliekitten**, **ellamalfoy8**, **BA de Danone**, **Kaydotsidot**, **aznchic2009**, **luckycharm04**, **Winona Corrine**, **Starfire13579**, **devinnetjuh**, **Artemis1415**, and **jazzymine91**: Thanks for the reviews! You all are the best!

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Chapter Eleven: **Preparations**

"Ron likes me?" Hermione still couldn't believe it. Even though Ginny had told her just yesterday, the shock of it all just continued to pester her. She sighed, as she changed into jeans and a t-shirt. Unfortunately, she would have to ditch school, and ultimately her future (at least to her), just to put all her energy into foiling Lucius's plans. But what choice did she have? It was either that, or be killed. Hmm.. Tough decision. Would she rather die or skip classes? Obviously, she chose that she'd rather not be dead. Although it was merely Sunday morning, she knew that she would probably not make it back in time for classes tomorrow.

After looking around for a moment, she checked to make sure that her door was locked, and right on cue, the second door appeared. She quickly opened it and closed it as quietly as possible, as to not arouse any suspicion from the supposed 'Draco'. Ginny was waiting almost impatiently, with Harry and Ron beside her. The three looked up, Ginny with relief on her face. Harry's look was a bit similar, and he did smile. Ron differed from both of them, and looked entirely gloomy. He almost immediately averted his eyes, as if Hermione was Medusa.

This brought a blush to Hermione's cheeks, but she acted casually. "Thanks for helping, guys." She smiled as cheerfully as possible, but Ginny didn't bother to smile back. She appeared to be lost in her own thoughts.. Either that or she had a dreadful pain in her stomach. They had an idea what they were getting into, but just the same. They didn't know what to expect from this. They hardly even believed that they would get out of the school grounds at all.

"Yeah, well, can't let Malfoy rot while his father tries to kill you, right Hermione?" Ginny suddenly said, in a desperate attempt to sound happy. "Anyway, we'd better go, right?" She stood up a bit reluctantly, dragging the boys up with her. She was clutching their arms so tightly, that her knuckles were turning white and they had looks of pain etched in their faces.

"Let go, Ginny!" Ron squeaked. It was the first thing he'd said in Hermione's presence in a while, now. Ron's face instantly turned scarlet, and he rubbed his arm as he grumbled under his breath. He seemed to be examining his arm afterwards, as if Ginny might have given him a rather painful tattoo of Voldemort, or something of the sort.

Hermione sighed, and looked at them. "Wait, Gin. Don't we need more people? I mean, we can't get into the Malfoy Manor and keep alive by ourselves! There are probably Death Eaters staying there!" She glanced at each of their worried faces. She knew they were thinking that no one would want to help them help Malfoy. It just wasn't done. "Look, Ginny, could you go up and ask Luna to help us, please?" After Ginny had agreed and scampered up the stairs to the girls' dormitory, she turned to the boys. "And could you guys go ask Neville or Seamus or Dean to help us?"

Ron and Harry exchanged looked that clearly meant they weren't sure about this, but they turned and trudged up the stairs.

Hermione smiled weakly to herself and plopped herself on the nearest chair. Her stomach was doing flips all over, and she couldn't imagine what was in store for them in the manor. Booby traps, Death Eaters? She shivered at the thought of dying if she did this. Although that was a bit drastic, seeing as it /was/ a home to the Malfoys... Somehow, this didn't cheer her up much. But she forced these thoughts to the back of her mind when Ginny arrived back down with Luna Lovegood. She seemed excited with her wand tucked behind her right ear and a grin on her face. Moments later, Harry and Ron came down with Seamus Finnigan and Neville Longbottom. Apparently, Dean Thomas did not want any part in this.

"Alright. So do you all have your wands?" She looked at all of them. Each of them nodded or replied with a 'yeah'. "Harry, do you have your invisibility cloak and Marauder's map?" She asked him. Although the map wouldn't be of much use to them outside of the castle, they could at least sneak out without getting in trouble. She got a yes from Harry. "And I'm guessing that Neville and Luna don't have brooms, and neither do I.. So maybe Luna could go with Ginny, Neville could go with Harry, and I could go with either Ron or Seamus. But since Ron doesn't seem to like me very much anymore, I'll go with Seamus." She thought that it was a pretty good plan. The only means on transportation they could use was with broomsticks. It was a bit slow, but it was all they had.

Ron let a frown cross his face at Hermione's last comments, but then turned away so she couldn't see properly.

"Now, I have a map that I got from Draco..." Hermione patted one of the pockets of her robe. "Don't ask how." She added, noticing the questioning looks she got from Luna, Seamus, and Neville. They hadn't be told why they were rescuing Malfoy. Just that they had to, and it was a matter of life and death. "So.. I guess that's all we need..." She thought hard for a minute to make sure that they really did have everything. "Oh, and don't forget to summon your brooms."

There were a few muttered spells, and the four brooms were accio'd to their owners. In the period of only minutes, the seven of them had snuck out of the castle and far enough into the Forbidden Forest so that they couldn't be seen. They mounted their brooms, each with their partners except for Ron, and started to the southeast, where the Malfoy Manor was supposed to be located.

It seemed like everything was on their side that day. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. Of course Hermione had to perform camouflage spells all of them, so they couldn't be seen, since they couldn't fly above the clouds. The sun was at first shining in their faces, and slowly moved above them. As the day wore on, the sun moved down behind them, and they had an easier time seeing.

They flew over various muggle towns and cities, and even vast areas of rivers, forests, and mountains. Everything seemed to be so beautiful..

"Hey, what's that black line in the sky?" Neville suddenly asked. At this, all of them turned to look at a very thin black line coming up from the ground. It was out far into the distance, and was hardly visible, but it was there.

"It looks like smoke.." Hermione answered calmly. It was probably just someone lighting a fire for camp or something. She shrugged it off and continued to fly, enjoying the cool breeze against her face. Her robes flapped back, making small flapping sounds. Somehow, it sounded soothing.

Several hours had passed, and it was nearing dusk. The sky was a darker blue-ish color, and so was the world. It was as if someone had pulled a clear blue sheet over everything. The black line had enlarged, and it was smoke. Large billowy clouds of dark grey smoke rose up in the air, rising higher and higher. "We'd better check it out!" she called out to her friends, and Seamus sped up, along with the others. In no time, they had reached and landed in the area. Hermione was shocked to see the remains of a large building that used to be elegant, by the looks of it. Hermione took the cloaking charm off of them and checked her map to see where they were, and was startled to discover that this was the exact place that the Malfoy Manor was supposed to be sitting.

"What happened here?" Harry saw that the fire had burned out, and shifted some of the ashes with his foot. He found a piece of what looked like a golden quill. The feathers were half burnt.

The others merely stared in awe, and explored a bit. They moved the remains around with their feet, even picking up a few things.

"Guys.." Hermione started, feeling a lump form in her throat. Her eyes welled up a bit as she continued, "This is the Malfoy Manor. It burned down." She leaned against Harry, choking on her last three words. She began to cry. If the mansion had burned down, then... She wept even harder. She couldn't bear to think that Draco had gone down with the building as well.

The others seemed to realize the same thing, and they stood in solemn silence. None of them shed a tear except Hermione. She was the only one that felt unbearable grief at the fact that Draco had perished along with his home. She was the only one that had truly got to him, and truly known who he was on the inside.

"Hermione?" came a voice. It did not belong to any of the group's, but it was all too familiar to all seven of the Hogwarts students standing there, and they all whipped around in the direction that the voice had come from. Hermione was the fastest.

She immediately stopped her crying once she saw who it was.

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Author's Note: Bleh. I'll end it here... Review, even though I've been a bad girl? D: 


	12. Unexpected

Author's Note: Hi, whoever is reading this…I know it has been three years since I last updated, and I am terribly sorry to any old readers. I really don't have an excuse for why I left you at that cliffhanger, but I certainly did not mean for it to be the end of the story. All I can say is that I'm back now, and I plan on completing this story whether anyone reads it or not. Looking back on this story, I find that it was bland and contained numerous errors I wish I could fix, but this it to be expected after three years of absence. I will try my best to remain true to the storyline, but please let me know if I make any errors. Sorry for the long wait, and I hope the remainder of the story isn't too much of a disappointment. :)

P.S. Now that I look back on my A/N's and actual chapters.... I realize that I was freakin' nutso! LOL.

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Chapter Twelve: **Unexpected**

"Remus?"

The thin figure of their former professor emerged from a billow of smoke, coughing slightly. His robes were ripped and soot was smeared across his face. There were glints of dark red blood where he had been cut and scraped, but the injuries appeared to be minor.

"We haven't got much time," he called out to them, beckoning them towards him.

After a few still moments of shock, Hermione and the others made their way towards him, stumbling through the wreckage.

"Remus, what are you doing here? Where's Draco?" Hermione spluttered, her voice cracking as she grabbed his arm. A whirlwind of thoughts flew in her head and she wasn't sure if she should be relieved or worried that Lupin was here.

"He's fine, Hermione, I'll explain in a moment," he murmured to her, then called out to the group, "Quickly—follow me!" His eyes darted up to the sky, then swept around the debris and smoke before he turned and made his way towards the cover of the trees. Hermione, Harry, Ron, Ginny, Neville, Luna, and Seamus followed, keeping their broomsticks handy in one hand. Everyone exchanged anxious glances with one another, not knowing what to expect. Harry slipped his free hand into his robe pocket, clutching his wand tightly.

They hurried through the trees and bushes, keeping the road leading from the mansion within sight. After a short time, Lupin swerved away from the road and led them into a small, quiet neighborhood. In fact, it seemed too quiet…

At one of the houses, Lupin approached the front door and made a series of quick jabs and swipes at it with his wand. "Walk through the door," he ordered, and one by one the group filed into the house, Lupin entering last.

Hermione was the first to step inside, and she saw that the exterior of the house was incredibly misleading. There was only a single room and a small bathroom, though the room was well-furnished. Surprisingly, there was an entire crowd of people huddled together in hushed whispers at one side of the room, with one person lying apart from the others on a sofa.

At the exact moment her eyes rested on the person on the sofa, Ginny clutched her arm tightly and pointed. "Hermione, look!"

"Draco," Hermione mouthed, her words choked back as she felt an overwhelming sense of relief to see him. She rushed to his side and saw that his torso was completely bandaged, as was his left arm. His eyes were closed, and for a moment she felt a pang of panic. "Draco?" she inquired softly, bending down to her knees by the sofa.

Draco's eyes snapped open, and she could see in them that he was just as relieved as she was at the moment. "Hermione, thank goodness you're all right." Giving her a crooked smile, he reached up with his unhurt arm and tenderly cupped her cheek in his hand. As he slipped his hand to her chin and brought it closer to him, she nodded slightly, her eyes closing as she fought back emotional tears.

They shared an intimate kiss full of relief and joy that they were both all right, until Hermione heard someone clear his throat behind her. Pulling away, she locked eyes with Draco, unable to hold back a smile, before she finally looked to see who had interrupted them.

It was Ron, of course.

With a deep sigh, Hermione rose to her feet, stealing a glance at Draco as she did so. His brows were furrowed, and he was glaring harshly at Ron.

"Sorry Hermione…uh, Malfoy," Ron stuttered nervously, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked back and forth between the two. He looked back at Harry, who was standing not a foot away and seemed to be urging Ron to continue. Finally settling his gaze upon Hermione, he let out a troubled sigh and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Well, I just wanted to apologize for acting like a git, Hermione—I really want us to be friends again," he finally blurted out, and then quickly added, "And sorry for punching Malfoy that time." An intense red blush spread from his cheeks to his neck to the tips of his ears as looked sheepishly down at the floor.

Smiling, Hermione immediately accepted his apology, and threw a grateful look in Harry's direction. "Apology accepted, Ron!" she gave him a hug, which he awkwardly took as Draco continued to pierce him with his glare.

Once he was free from her embrace, Ron extended his hand out to Draco. "Truce, mate?"

This time, Hermione was the one that had to urge Draco to cooperate. Finally, he ceased his intense glaring and rolled his eyes. "Might as well." They shook hands.

"Great, now can someone please explain what's been going on?" Neville exclaimed in a shrill, throwing his arms up as he joined them at the sofa. His eyes were practically bulging out of his head.

"Yeah, why are Remus and all those other people here?" Ginny chimed in, referring to the group of five and Remus, who were surrounding a table at the other side of the room.

Draco sat up on the sofa, draping his arm over its back as he began to explain. "Yesterday, my father infuriated Greyback…They were arguing outside my door, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. Greyback stopped checking up on me after that, and I don't know what my father was doing for the next few hours. Then, just before midnight, I heard some shouts and a lot of commotion downstairs, but before I could wonder what it was all about, smoke started to seep through the crack underneath my door and into my room. Someone had set the mansion on fire. I can only guess that it was an accident or my father did it intentionally. In any case, I tried to get out but I couldn't get past the enchantments my dad put on the room."

"Lucky I was there, eh?" Lupin interrupted good-naturedly. He appeared to have joined them at some point during Draco's story.

Shaking his head with a slight smirk on his face, Draco said, "Of course, of course…Well, then Lupin came barging in and saved my ass." He then looked to Lupin with a raised eyebrow, signaling for him to continue.

Lupin nodded, taking a seat on the arm of the sofa. "It was by pure chance that I came across Greyback boasting to some other werewolves. He was planning to round up werewolves and Death Eaters under You-Know-Who and spoke of planning an attack on Harry." For a moment, his eyes flickered to Harry, who was listening intently. Upon eye contact, Harry nodded in a serious manner.

"Well, anyway," he continued, "that was certainly not unexpected, but then he mentioned Draco Malfoy here, and well, there is way too much to be said with little time now to say it. I will explain all of this later, but now we need to discuss a plan of action now. This location can only be safe for so long before Death Eaters arrive. All I can say to you, though I hardly need to convince Hermione of this, is that Draco here is completely on our side."

Turning and calling the five strangers over to them, Lupin introduced the four men and one woman. "These are my colleagues with whom I am working, under Dumbledore's orders. They have aided me in breaking into the Malfoys' manor and rescuing Draco. At present, the most important person in this room besides Harry is Draco. He knows critical information that will help the Order of the Phoenix." Everyone nodded, indicating their understanding, though Draco looked somewhat uneasy as he wrung his hands together.

"Now," Lupin said, "Dumbledore has been informed that Lucius is masquerading as Draco, though at this point I do not doubt that Lucius knows this and has made his escape. Therefore, you kids must return to Hogwarts—you'll be safest there. We," he referred to himself and the five wizards and witch, "will take care of Lucius and the other Death Eaters."

At that, he seemed to conclude their impromptu meeting, and he motioned them towards an umbrella that one of his colleagues was holding. "This portkey is due to activate any moment now, so all of you grab onto it, please. Dumbledore has allowed it access to the castle, and it will transport you to the front of the castle where Severus will be waiting to let you in.

Hermione nodded, took the umbrella and her friends crowded around her, each seizing a piece of the umbrella in their hand. Draco slipped on a slightly tattered robe and joined them, wrapping an arm securely around Hermione's waist as he took hold of the tip of the umbrella.

"I'll keep in touch," was the last thing that Lupin said before they all whirled off the ground.

As they lifted into the air, Draco didn't let go of her and Hermione felt an incredible sense of euphoria, as if everything was going to be okay from now on. Though there were a lot of blanks in Draco and Lupin's story, she trusted them both and was mostly just happy that she knew where she and Draco stood and that he was all right. As they tumbled onto the lawn of the school grounds, she and Draco smiled at each other.

"I'm glad you're okay," she whispered almost shyly as she slipped her hand into his. Their fingers meshed perfectly.

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Author's Note: This was a difficult chapter.. I tried not to make all the explanations too boring, but I don't know how that worked out, haha.

Reviews, be it comments, constructive criticism, flames, etc. are all welcome. Suggestions are also greatly appreciated. Sorry for the long wait to any old readers that may be around… Thanks for reading!


	13. Closer

Author's Note: So it's been another 3 years since I last updated haha. Well, actually 3 and a half. Not sure if any of my old readers are even around anymore, but I might as well update. I apologize for mistakes and lack of flow in original chapters. I also apologize for any loopholes or plot mistakes because my train of thought has disappeared completely. Please let me know if you notice any mistakes!

Chapter Thirteen: **Closer**

Once safely inside Hogwarts, the group decided that it would be best to hide Draco in the Gryffindor dormitories for the moment. They were unsure as to whether or not Lucius was still masquerading as Draco, and did not want knowledge of the real Draco's presence to leak out. Covering his head with a hood in attempt to blend in with the group as they headed to the Gryffindor quarters, Draco squeezed Hermione's hand lightly before letting go and parting ways. She gave him a small smile and turned in the direction of the Heads' quarters. Anxiety overtook her and she kept her hand rested inside her pocket, ready to fling out her wand in case of confrontation.

No one had any idea if Lucius was aware of Draco's escape, if he knew that the group knew of his disguise, or if he was even still on Hogwarts grounds. Once at the entrance of the common room, she drew in a deep breath and walked in. Cautiously sweeping the room with her eyes, she saw no sign of anyone being present. The fireplace was burnt out, so with a flick of her wand she re-ignited it.

"Malfoy?" she called out, her voice laced with more uneasiness than she wanted. Clearing her throat softly, she repeated herself. "Malfoy?" This time, in a more demanding tone. _Remember, you have to act like Draco is actually the one here_, she told herself. She feared more than anything that she would let on that she knew it was actually Lucius. If anything, she hoped that he would never return again. But she knew he wouldn't leave yet… Not if he still had plans for her. Her death, to be exact… His hatred for her and mudbloods as a whole was too strong. He would still be around to carry out his plans.

As if on cue with her thoughts, she heard a rustle coming from her room. Her hand twitching on her wand, Hermione froze for a split second before cautiously walking towards her room. She made sure to tread lightly on the carpet, but on her way to her door her hip clumsily bumped into the corner of a table. The slight sound from the wobble of the table was enough. Almost instantaneously, Draco—well, Lucius in disguise—appeared in her doorway.

"Granger," he sneered, standing with complete composure. He must have been caught off guard, and yet he was extremely adept at giving off the opposite impression.

Hermione was quick to put her acting skills to the test. "Malfoy, what have I told you before about invading my personal space?" she snapped, projecting a sense of annoyance, as though this was not that first time she caught Draco in her room. She didn't know how else to react, and figured this would be the best way to act "normal" around Lucius. She stomped over to him in an attempt to get into her room so she could end this exchange quickly with a slam of her door. Her  
"anger" was a perfect excuse to lock the door and get safely out of the way of Lucius. It would have worked, only as she tried to push past him he would not budge. He continued to lean against her doorframe, effectively blocking her from the safety of her room.

"Malfoy, if you would kindly move…" Hermione attempted to sneer at him, but her voice was very nearly going to give her away. Somehow, she mustered up some annoyance in her voice. She was going to add a glare for an added effect, but the sting of fear that ran through her heart when he would not budge was enough to keep her from making eye contact.

Lucius simply stared blankly at her for a moment. Hermione's heart almost stopped, and in a desperate attempt to get away she tried to push past him again. This time, however, he gave in easily and moved aside.

"Look, Granger," he started, before Hermione had the chance to slam the door in his face. "I know you're pissed at me, but I feel bad now for what I've done. Is there a way I can make it up to you?" He looked at her with convincing hope and sincerity. The cold eyes that just a moment ago scared her to death were now filled with emotion. Hermione almost forgot who she was dealing with.

Even as she reminded herself that this wasn't the real Draco, she had to act normal. What was normal, though? Would she normally accept the apology or would ignore it?

"Okay," she said, adding a sigh to show the burden it was to allow him to apologize. "When?" Her heart was beating so furiously that she thought she might have a heart attack. She couldn't believe she just asked to set a time for when Lucius was clearly planning on putting in plan in motion. She should've simply agreed but stalled setting a meeting time. She reached towards the door to close it, deciding she would tell him to inform her later.

"Saturday evening, 6:00. We will meet in the Room of Requirements."

Too late. Hermione gave a small nod and closed the door, clicking the lock and feeling absolutely petrified. Saturday was the 31st. Saturday was in five days.

She couldn't move for who knows how long. Her whole body felt numb and she simply stared at the closed door. It finally hit her. Someone actually wanted her dead. Lucius Malfoy wanted her dead. Sure, she just recently found this out, but it never actually sank in until now. Before, it was just words and now it was something concrete. He himself had given her the time and place, though of course it was disguised as an innocent apology. If circumstances were different and Hermione was not aware that it was Lucius, she would have easily fallen into that trap. All this knowledge was just too overwhelming.

Finally, Hermione forced herself to take a step back from the door. Almost immediately, the door to the Gryffindor common room appeared and she swung it open.

"Hermione! You okay?" Harry was suddenly at her side.

"What's wrong, Hermione?" Ginny's eyebrows furrowed with concern as she put her arm around Hermione to comfort her.

Although they asked these questions, everyone looked at her knowingly. The look on Hermione's face said it all. And the look on her face when Draco pushed past everyone else and slid his arms protectively around her also said it all. "Nothing will happen to you, Hermione," he stated matter-of-factly. Everyone feared for Hermione's safety at this point, but Draco made it clear that he wasn't going to let anything happen to her.

Hermione felt her muscles relax as she let herself melt in Draco's arms. The warmth of his body and his strong arms around her made her feel safe. But more comforting was the fact that he was so determined to protect her and the fact that she knew he was there for her in this moment. "I'll be okay, you guys. We'll have a plan by Saturday."

"I'll get in contact with Remus as soon as I can," Harry piped in cheerfully, attempting to lighten the mood. "We still have a few days, and that should be more than enough time for all of us to think of a plan."

"Yeah, we're all brilliant, aren't we?" Ron joined in, providing a lopsided smile in attempt to be as hopeful as Harry.

Hermione nodded with a small smile. "Yes, you guys are amazing. Let's all rest up tonight and I'll see you in the morning." As lovely as her friends were, she just wanted to get away from everyone. All she needed right now was the feeling of safety Draco provided for her. She also refused to let him leave by her side at this point. She need to know he was safe. Everyone said they goodbyes to each other as they all parted to their dormitories and Hermione and Draco retreated to her room. Thankfully, the castle's magic was strong and there was no chance as far as they knew that Lucius would be able to get into Hermione's room while they occupied it.

Draco slid his arms around her waist and playfully pulled her to the middle of the room, lightening her mood. "I've missed you," he breathed huskily into her ear, smiling. This immediately sent chills down her spine. "I've missed you too." She smiled back up at him and draped her arms around his neck. Their gazes locked for a moment, their eyes filled with a mixture of passion and relief. He enveloped her lips in a deep kiss, his mouth fitting perfectly with hers. Everything in this moment felt right. She slid a hand down to his chest to push him back towards the bed, but was met with a grunt of pain. She'd forgotten that he was still bandaged across his chest and arm. Smiling sheepishly in apology, she gently rested her hand on his chest and he willingly moved back onto the bed with her.

As he laid on his back, Hermione carefully slid herself above him and recaptured their kiss, running one hand through his hair and gently cupping his jawline with the other. Smirking slightly into their kiss, Draco slid his hand down her body, feeling her smooth skin and running his hands up and down her sides and back. All of a sudden, he sneakily slid his hands down her pants and firmly grabbed her bare butt cheeks, eliciting a gasp from her. Pausing from their passionate kiss, his smirk grew.

"Granger, you wear _thongs_?" he teased, pinching the string of fabric between his fingers, pulling it up, and letting it snap back between her cheeks.

Hermione couldn't help but smile as she looked down at him, their noses barely touching. His smirk and the joking twinkle in his eyes were gone. Instead, she saw something else familiar in his eyes. It was same look he gave her in the train compartment at the beginning of the year. She realized now that he hadn't been in a daze. It was lust in his eyes. But this time, the lust was mixed with an intense passion, a passion for her alone.

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Author's Note: I can't say when I'll be updating again. If I get reviews with positive feedback for more then I will definitely update again within the next 4 years! Haha but really, I will try to update further if you guys want. I actually don't know if I have any readers anymore, I did this chapter for my own sake. Thanks for reading! (if there's anyone reading this haha) Also let me know if you have any ideas for me to put in the next chapter. Constructive criticism is also appreciated!


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